Rising Tide
by SadameHime
Summary: She had the power to chose who ruled the Mojave, but the choice was difficult. Too much rode on her choices, and with the rising tide, Juno lost herself. Originally entitled Juno Lucina.
1. Create Desire

_Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at a Fallout Fanfiction. I was gripped pretty quickly by the Legion when I started playing New Vegas, and for a long time, I wondered what might motivate the Courier into really seeing the need to do all of this. I created a strange back story for my on version of the Courier and gave her a child. Often times, there is no greater motivation than a child's wellbeing. Many of the quest's will be largely set off to the side, since most of us know what happens. Only the ones where I think they may happen differently will be covered._

_Originally posted on my alternate account, BloodVagrant, I decided to edit it and post it here and add to the clutter on my page. I wasn't happy with it, and did a lot of tweaking._

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><p>The Courier had trekked across the Mojave for two reasons, to kill the man that shot her in the head and to see her daughter. She had left the girl in Freeside with the Kings, a strange place for a child but a place filled with people that she trusted. She had seen many things in the weeks it took her to circle around the desert in search of the man called Benny. Crucifixions, ghouls headed to space, invisible Super Mutants, NCR dogs working Freeside for profit and glory. Some of these things she had passed, others she had destroyed. The Courier passed her judgment out willingly as she crossed the Mojave on her quest for vengeance and safety for her child.<p>

Until she took the job as a Courier, Juno had worked for the better part of seven years in Freeside, scrounging a life out of the dirt for her child. She made sure to keep her child well fed, even if it meant malnutrition for herself in those days. After she began working as a Courier, she never needed to skip a meal to feed her daughter. Caps fell into her hands much faster there than in the Old Mormon Fort where she practiced medicine for six years. She took up a gun rather than a scalpel and found a way to carve a better life for her child. Initially, that was all she cared about. The more and more she killed, the more and more she realized it got to her.

Juno, as the Courier was named, entered the Vegas strip with her tiny look alike upon her hip. Juno had a petite frame, agile and prone to injury. Her red hair a mystery to all those in the Mojave, and it appeared that her child had gained all of these qualities from her. The strange color of her hair and her slender frame gained the Courier attention, marked her as someone not native to the area. She did not mind it but exploited it. The attention made it easier for her to hide her true intentions in almost all situations, even when it came to a blasted man in a computer.

Mr. House seemed to doubt her capabilities and judged her at face value. He had sounded surprised when he first saw her, as if he believed all of her deeds could not have been completely by a meek, fragile little woman like her. Juno had grown stronger since she had been shot in the head, the scar hidden behind a curl in her hair. He questioned her when she first arrived, even though he knew all about her from Victor and the other securitrons. Even he, the 'Father' of New Vegas, had been slow to accept that such a tiny woman had so much power.

Regardless of his reassurances that her child would be safe in the Lucky 38, Juno would not take the chances. She trusted humans around her baby, and would likely have to leave the girl with the King again as she did every time she left Freeside. She had a lot of work to do before Vegas was safe for her child. Benny had to die. Mr. House had to die, and she still had to pay a visit to the Legion. She would be damned if she stepped foot in the NCR territory or even considered their offer. She had seen too many of the horrible things they had done to even blink at them, yet after witnessing the atrocities of the Legion, she still felt attracted by them.

In the end, all she wanted was to keep her daughter safe. To hell with the NCR and the Legion and their bloody politics. She just wanted her baby girl to grow up in a world where she was not an object or a slave, but a respected person. This notion alone had set her originally against the Legion,but at Nipton, she saw things that shocked and inspired her in equal parts. The crucifixions of the Powder Gangers, the story of the lottery that a Legionary had instated to punish the town all made her puzzle over Caesar's Legion in a child-like, but twisted, form of obsession.

Unlike many people in the Mojave, she had an education. She knew all about the society that Caesar had based his Legion off of, and that knowledge would prove useful to her in the future if she chose their side. With this on her mind, she glanced around at the NCR officers, looking for a good time outside of Gomorrah. She felt the tension in the air around the Vegas Strip. People knew something was going on and that something was wrong often at the sight of her. Trouble followed her everywhere she went, and this was no more true now then it had been before. People that had heard of her work outside of the city itself knew that she had a knack for both finding and solving problems. Her daughter had been a product of such trouble, trouble she got herself into by foolishly running away with a man from the White Glove Society in her teens. Trouble she had gotten herself into by following her dad to Vegas instead of staying in New Mexico with her mother's tribe. Trouble she had gotten into by taking that goddamn job.

Juno made her way from one end of the strip to the other, eager to pick up some of her things from her penthouse on the way to the King's establishment in Freeside. Before she took out her frustrations on Benny, she would ensure her child's safety with someone she could trust, and there was no one she trusted more than the King.

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><p>Vulpes Inculta stood far off in the distance, his eyes on the courier he had met briefly many weeks before this. He had been surprised to find that this woman, strong willed and understanding of the Legion's actions at Nipton, had a child. He wondered if his initial impression of this woman had been wrong, and he now questioned why Caesar would find her useful. She had produced an offspring before she got herself involved with Mr. House and the politics of the Mojave. Her strength had either been misunderstood, or overestimated.<p>

She had at least been weak at one point in her life, frail and prone to silly emotions like love as most women are. Had her child been the product of such a fleeting thought, a lesson from life that she had been a fool? Vulpes puzzled on this, part of him determined to understand a woman that had fought through the Mojave alone, never once with a companion. She had gained the attention of Caesar through these actions, and he wondered if the child had motivated her. Certainly it did, for she held the little girl in her arms with such a protective and powerful air around her that Vulpes would not question it any longer. This woman was much like Juno, The mother Goddess of the Legion. She lived and breathed motherhood, casting judgment on anyone that threatened the safety of her child.

The child in question held a black stuffed animal in her arms, playing with it behind her mother's back. Vulpes could clearly see it was a fox, and the child chirped aloud at it and called in Cheshire from time to time. He wondered why the girl had chosen such a name, one typically associated with cats.

"Cheshire is tired, mommy," The child complained on behalf of her toy.

"We'll stop soon, Ari. Mommy just forgot something in the hotel. We'll be on our way to see the King after that."

"Good. Cheshire likes him, and so do I."

"The King's a nice guy."

"Mmmhmmm.."

The Courier turned around, as if aware of his presence for the shortest moment. She paused, continuing to hold her child with both arms. She stood at the doorway to the Lucky 38, wary for the briefest second before stepping into the doors. She must not have been able to pick him out amongst the other Strip frequenters that often dressed in the same fashion. She was now beyond his reach.

When she emerged, her child had fallen asleep in her arms. The Courier wasted no time in carrying the child toward Freeside, and Vulpes followed. She passed through Freeside unchallenged, as if the gangs had long ago learned their lesson when it came to fighting her. Her stop in The King's home lasted only a few minutes, and she emerged with the look Vulpes knew her to carry into battle. Determination, ferocity and anger. She reminded him of a lioness out on the hunt.

The Courier did not even react to Vulpes as she passed him on her return trip to the Strip beyond a brief glance. She saw him, maybe even recognized him, but he knew she had business. The determination he had seen in Nipton had returned to her face, and her hand rested delicately over a small pocket. She had the Tops on her mind.

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><p>Benny's touch had burned her like a gentle flame, a strange reminder of the bullet he put in her head. The bullet wound itself even burned as he had his way with her, dirty talking her with his strange vocabulary. She had preferred it this way, lured him so deep into the security of his own suite so that she could kill him in his sleep, and she would be damned if she did not do it. He slept next to her, his breathing only a miniscule noise in the quiet of his home. She remained laying beside him, naked and aware.<p>

For the span of time she had exploited every man's weakness, she almost believed that she could like him. His vocabulary could get a little hard to understand sometimes, but in her unguarded moment of passion she almost found it funny. Now that she had rode out the waves of her ecstasy, she saw the man who put a bullet in her head and not the man that made her feel like a woman again.

She was not just a woman anymore. She had become a mother, a ferocious force of nature protecting her her child. She would exterminate any threat, eliminate any chance of harm. This was her basest motivation beside her revenge. His death would come soon enough, but she took the moment to remind herself why she was there. She had come to kill him, to rid the world of one more scumbag that could threaten the security of her child, to get her revenge, and maybe even earn a few caps while she was at it.

…_I ain't a fink._

Or so he said. Juno rarely believed anything people told her anymore. After being in Vegas for all of her child's life, she knew better than to trust anyone who wore a tacky ass suit and spoke in outdated slang. She sat up, reached behind herself for her pillow, and straddled Benny in his sleep.

He awoke to the heat around his waist, her hips pressing against his. In the earliest moments of his awakened state, he could not interpret all his surroundings. Benny knew that his baby had woken him up, but he did not know his baby had brought a pillow down on his face the moment he opened his mouth. The realization hit him too late. She still intended to kill him.

"Baby, you're still wantin' ta go, aren't ya-"

"Oh yeah… _Baby. _I'm a goddamn machine."

He struggled beneath her, gasping for air past the cloth of the pillow, he reached for Juno, but could not grab her. As she was to so many others, Juno remained out of his reach. She smirked to herself as she served him the cold, bitter revenge she had thought of since she woke up in Goodsprings. And she would be damned if she did not savor the taste. She imagined strangling every son of a bitch that had ever wronged her in just a similar way. Since she had been shot, Juno did not exactly think about consequences very much. Revenge felt good, better than sex even, and the slightest taste that came with Benny's death reminded her of all the other finks that had ever wronged her. She wanted to kill them too.

He made noise in his struggle, a scream or two asking to be let go only to be muffled out by the fabric that cut off his breathing. Juno's hold was firm, and she would not relent. This was her moment, and it would be until she took from him his life and everything he had. She would sell his tacky suit to a wandering trader. Keep his gun. Take back the platinum chip he had stolen from her, and God only knew what she would do with that. She certainly would not take it back to Mr. House. Fuck him. She knew better than to trust a machine.

As soon as Benny quit moving beneath her, her arms went lax. A sigh of relief escaped her, and the itch that could not be quenched finally left her at peace. She let her head fall back, savoring the ecstasy of her sweet victory. It felt better to her than the night she had spent with the dead man beneath her. My God, did she feel like she needed a cigarette.

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><p>Vulpes had not been surprised when he heard the noise of carnal desire playing out behind the doors to Benny's suite. He had followed the Courier to her destination, heard her talk to him quietly while Vulpes camouflaged himself at a full blackjack table. He had watched her take him by the hand and guide him away, flicking her hips to one side in the most feminine and alluring way. Any other man would have followed such a woman gladly into the night. The profligate had exploited a strength she had long ago discovered. Maybe her child had been a product of such a discovery.<p>

He waited to pursue them, fully aware that Benny's estate was on the thirteenth floor of the casino. He had kept close watch on him many times before, gathering information for Caesar. Now, he knew that would no longer happen. He trusted that the Courier was not such a weak willed woman to let one night ruin her revenge. To her, it became a way to get what she wanted.

As he waited outside the door of Benny's suite, he could hear the muffled sounds of screaming, the signal that his death had come to him. The Courier had taken him into her embrace and killed him at his weakest hour, a tactic she had to have employed before. In this she was like a spider. In all his time following this woman and collecting data for Caesar, he had realized this: she had the capacity to destroy utterly.

He opened the door after the sounds of Benny's demise stopped, and he found the Courier to still be naked, straddling the man and sitting up, limp above him in a way he might expect from a woman just after she had reached her peak. Her rear end was covered in the sheet, but he could see the sinewy muscles in her back working as she looked over her shoulder at him, surprise flashing in her eyes for just a moment before she pulled the blanket to her, hiding her body from his sight.

There was something to be said for a strong woman, so well sculpted and capable. The concept had never before had a place in his mind, at least not until this Courier had appeared on the scene. She peered at him warily, taking a moment to take in his features. Before he even spoke to her, recognition fired in her facial expression as she stood and took the blanket with her to gather her things, leaving Benny beneath his pillow and his sheet, dead as a doornail.

"Is this how you often take revenge, Courier?"

"I'm usually not in the business of revenge. All I really care about is my kid, but I wasn't letting this guy get away with almost killing me."

As she spoke, the Courier gathered up almost everything that had been on the floor. Benny's possessions an not been spared her sticky grasp, and she carried them around the corner. Vulpes chose not to follow. He knew she had gone to hide herself as she dressed, but he would be ready if she tried to pull anything.

"And what do you intend to do with what he stole from you?"

"…Excuse me?" The Courier peaked around the corner at him, her long red hair cascading over her bare shoulder. She hobbled around as she looked at him, clearly struggling with her pants.

Her brow quirked at him full of questions, but he merely smirked at her, intending not to enlighten her. She knew what he spoke of, and he moved on to what really mattered: her appearance that Fortification Hill.

"I expect that now that your business in the Strip is finished, you'll be going to meet with Caesar soon."

"Maybe, I haven't decided yet." She disappeared behind the wall again, satisfied that he would not give her the answer she had sought.

"Let me make it easy for you. He demands your presence, and if you do not arrive within two days, I will come for you on the third and drag you there myself."

"Oooohhh, that sounds violent. Do you often drag women to your Caesar?" The tone in her voice was teasing, and it displeased him.

"Yes, but never a profligate woman that he has summoned. Only slaves or soon to be slaves."

"That's dirty business for someone like you. Aren't you supposed to be a spy or something like that?…" She emerged again, fully clothed in her tight fitting leathers.

"Fumentarii do whatever Caesar commands. All Legionnaires do."

"Sounds delightful, uhh… Vulpes, right? But, I gotta go check on my kid before I head to your Fortification Hill. I've got bigger things to do than stand here in a dead guy's home and talk business."

She dusted off her hands, as if washing away whatever sins she had just committed. He saw no signs of unrest in her actions as she went around him, refusing to wait for a response. She must have assumed she would not gain one from him, and she was correct. Vulpes would sooner let her go and be on his way to Fortification Hill again than continue this contact with her.

Something about the Courier unsettled him. She did not threaten him, no. He could never feel threatened by a woman. Her presence commanded attention and respect, something he had never been inclined to give a woman. It poisoned the air around her, tasting of confidence and power and beauty. All of those things proved dangerous, and as he reflected on his as he left the Vegas Strip, he wondered if it was these qualities that came out in the stories Caesar had heard of this woman, and if these qualities had earned her the summons.

He did not know her name, but when the Legionnaires did, there would be talk. Juno Lucina would come to renew the power of Caesar.

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><p><em>Juno's name is, obviously, a call back to the Roman Goddess Juno, who was a mother goddess and a warrior. Some sources say she is a fusion of all of the Mediterranean's mother goddesses, and the Greek Goddess Athena.<em>

_Juno Lucina refers to a sort of ritual that Juno presided over for fertility, but it also had connections to political power. _

_This is where the inspiration for my Courier came from. Thank you for reading! Please leave any thoughts you have. I thrive on the feedback._


	2. The Mamba

_Thank you for your support, everyone. This is just a short chapter to bridge into a longer one, and I wanted to post before work today._

_Omega13- I thought that Juno would be a good name for a female Courier because Juno is the mother goddess of Rome, their equivalent of the Greek Hera, and she remained venerated for a very long time. She had a lot to do with political power in one of her aspects, and its that aspect that will be talked about a lot as the story progresses._

_Thenightmirage- as I said to Omega13, I love the name and think its suit's the Courier well. There will be a lot of OC characters appearing and refering to Roman Gods as the story progresses because almost all of the companions I've come across hate the Legion, and I don't want to include that kind of conflict. Most OC characters will be companion types for Juno._

_With that said, here we go. The song featured in this chapter is a variation on the song The Moon Asked the Crow by Cocorosie. I tweaked it a little to suit the needs of the story, and I think it fits well. Bonus points to anyone who catches the foreshadowing._

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><p><em>The fox asked the crow for a little show in the hazy milk of twilight. No one had to know, no one had to know..<em>

Tribal drums rocked the walls of the Fort, a stern and rhythmic reminder of the world that made its home there. The voices of slave women carried into the air, a message of prophecy from the lips of an elder. Together, these women celebrated the Gods and Goddesses of the Legion, foretold the coming of one, and went largely unheard by most of the men. Only Caesar took into account some of the songs these women sang, for he knew their meaning better than anyone else. He knew the source of them intimately, kept her close to the chest because she too knew him better than anyone else. This one woman had a lot of power in knowledge, and it showed even when she made silly prophecies to chant out on Thursday evenings to gods that may or may not exist._  
><em>

Even though they had long ago been told to stop their traditional celebrations now that they were part of the Legion, the Mamba clan, this woman's original tribe, continued to sing their songs and engineer instruments for music from whatever they could find around the Fort. They were punished harshly at first, but they never ceased even when slaves were put to death. Somewhere in his heart, Caesar had found a fondness for the music and the songs they sang, and he gave them the freedom to practice as they did in New Mexico. He saw the method behind them, and recognized them for what they could do for the Legion.

These festivites became a way for the slaves to put themselves on display to the Legionaries, dancing in praise to the gods and the men that kept them safe. Each woman wore a different color, but not one dressed in the crimson of the Legion's flag. Considered blasphemous, anyone who did so would be put to death. The crimson color was meant only for men, and the Legionaries intended to keep it that way.

When Vulpes had returned to the Fort, he could hear the song of the Mamba clan carrying through the walls, praise and prophecy of the Mother Goddess Juno. They had built a large bon fire beside the river, under the watchful eyes of Legionaries that had volunteered to watch them. Tonight was a night in which Caesar felt well enough to watch as well, but he joined for more than just the entertainment. It seemed that few men but Vulpes caught onto this.

The women danced in long skirts and shirts cut just underneath their breasts. Their bodies moved like the waves off the river. Their arms snaked along in the air like their namesake. Their shadows cast their length across the sandy ground of the Fort, darkening everything around them. The beat of the drums moved them and the voice of Gaea carried over them all, echoed by several of the other women. She sang of animals, symbols for whatever it was she tended to see in her visions. Vulpes did not believe in them, but it seemed that Caesar did. Maybe that was the true reason he had joined the Legionaries in watching the tribe that night. The Frumentarius was almost certain of it.

Vulpes came to stand near Caesar and allowed his eyes to drift along the sight of these slaves returning to their heritage. The oldest of them, a woman in her fifties, even danced. She was revered as an elder, and the slaves spoke of how her husband had taken her child from the clan only days before the Legion descended upon them. They looked upon her as a prophet, as she told the story that she asked her husband to go. The truth would never be known, but even Caesar sometimes went to this slave. They called her Gaea, a priestess of the word of the Gods.

"The Courier will be arriving within the week, Caesar." Vulpes spoke softly, his voice almost drowned out by the rhythmic drumming and clapping of the gathered slaves.

"Good. We will be expecting her."

Caesar leaned back in his seat, taking in the sight as many of the Legionaries did. Vulpes, out of all those gathered, was likely the only one who did not attend regularly. He had no interest in any of these slaves, the days when he would have happily taken one to bed having passed from him. Since becoming a Frumentarii, he had become far more professional, and he prided himself on his self control and discipline.

_I see a pool of liquid tears, glimmering so sweet and mellow. A sea of lilting wilting willows, a secret book of forgotten wishes, drown in ponds of broken dishes…_

The song they sang that night was sad, invoking thought in all of those around. Usually, they celebrated. Tonight, they danced for other reasons. The prophet slave had seen the coming of Juno Lucina, and she sang of her past, present, and future. Caesar had explained to Vulpes days ago that the Juno Lucina had the power to bring glory to the Legion in the way of victory at Hoover Dam and power in the Vegas Strip. She would bring new life to their ranks and invoke high morale. Vulpes questioned how any woman, who had now become a mystic figure from an old woman's vision, could do such a thing when the Frumentarii could not.

He knew that this aspect of the mother goddess had a lot to do with fertility, and he suspected that this aspect could influence political fertility as well. Maybe this Lucina was not a real person, just an image to center their successful campaign around. He rarely found cause to believe in the Gods and Goddesses that were called upon outside of battle. Juno was no exception to this rule. She concerned herself with the weak, thinning the herd and delivering only the strong to Mars' chosen people. She took the weak for herself.

_You feel like rain in the dark abysses, kissing the lips of the bloody twin is.. Sung to you by a slew of sirens._

"I don't understand why you put faith in this slave's visions, Caesar."

"She gave the slaves what we could not, a reason to be content in their place. She saw reason for us somewhere, and now she says that victory will be ours. This Courier has proven powerful, and I hope she is the Juno Lucina we need."

"If it is a woman to bring us victory and power, then the Gods are cruel masters."

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><p>Juno had left only hours after Vulpes had left the Strip, briefly visiting with her daughter and the King before she struck out for the Fort. She would have to visit Cottonwood Cove first, as to ferry across to the Fort. She did not mind this part, and would love a short rest before speaking to Caesar. She had armed herself from head to toe, prepared for anything, and walked along the road heading south, keeping her eye on the map of her Pip-Boy.<p>

The ranger hat she had taken from the body of an NCR Ranger protected her face and eyes from the sun, but her clothing provided no such protection. It barred down on her bare legs and neck, spreading color over her flesh as she walked into nightfall. She passed through Novac an hour or so before sunset, and did not stop walking until she reached Cottonwood Cove.

The Legionaries watched her closely as she passed, and she could not help but roll her eyes and she pulled at her shorts, wondering if it had been a bad day to dress for the temperature. She had drank all of the water she had brought with her, and even then felt little relief from the sun. The Mojave was rarely kind to her, and this had been just such a ruthless day.

"Cursor Lucullus, at the dock right?" She said aloud, asking no one in particular. The Legionaries did not speak, but nodded at her.

She did not even deserve a word from their mouths, she guessed, seeing as she was a woman. It irked her, but she understood their customs well. The Legion had began their incursion into New Mexico years before she had left her home, and probably would have became a slave if she had not left with her father. She could hold her head high, even when they looked down their noses at her. She had something they did not: pride in herself. Her pride did not belong to any flag or cause, at least not yet.

Lucullus was less standoffish toward her, but like Vulpes, had clearly put up a barrier. It seemed the Legion had heard of her charms and her tactics and prepared all that would come in contact with her for a seductress. As she rode to the Fort in silence, she wondered what all they knew about her.

"…The NCR calls you the Crow, did you know that?" Lucullus spoke after an hour of silence, continuing to guide the ferry to the Fort.

The waters passed by in silence, creatures on the edges of the water watched them pass, unwilling to swim through to trouble them.

"The crow, huh? Why is that?"

"Because you pick from the corpses of their men for survival," Lucullus noted.

Juno laughed. It made sense.

"...Its flattering really."

"We do not have a.. Nickname for you.. We call simply you the Courier."

"Simple, and what everyone but the NCR is calling me. My name is Juno, Cursor Lucullus. You may call me by name."

She smiled, warm and almost genuine. He did not allow himself to look at her too long. Juno took this as a sign that the Legionaries _had_ been prepared for the kind of woman she often was to men that could or could not kill her at a moment's notice. And here she thought this would be a simple visit. There would be no seducing Caesar's Legion.

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><p>The Fort proved to be a place where she could not determine the level of welcome. Each Legionnaire watched her as she passed with curious and speculative eyes. She knew enough about them that their culture did not give women the benefit of respect. She wondered if they saw her as a threat to their way of life, or a welcome change from the slave women they had. They would look; she knew that. She also knew that they would never touch. The idea of an independent, capable woman probably threatened most of them.<p>

Caesar's Praetorian guards regarded her with a level of disgust, viewing her as an abomination. She could see it in their eyes, could see it in the eyes of every man she passed but Caesar himself and the Frumentarius she had met several times outside of the Fort. She met with Caesar under the watchful eyes of Vulpes Inculta. He remained wary of her just like all of the other Legionaries, but she had resolved to do one of two things. She would either make them enemies, or she would make them allies. Only time would tell, but she knew one thing with certainty.

The NCR would never see her alliance.

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><p><em>Thank you for reading, please leave any thoughts in the reviews section. Any and all feedback is welcome and will help me as I write.<em>


	3. As It Began

_Seven Years Earlier_

_Western New Mexico_

_The small town of Serpiente, named so because the Mamba tribe called it home, welcome the disguised Caesar, his Legate Joshua Graham, and Vulpes Inculta with open arms. They had made their home in the ruins of a once expansive little town, using the main street buildings as places for learning of all types. They taught their women a traditional dance, what Caesar knew to be called belly dancing, and their men were taught several forms of hand to hand combat. They would be difficult to conquer, but it would be worth it._

_The truth was that Caesar feared these people. They had knowledge of the world he had based his Legion upon. To conquer them now would save them a lot of trouble in the long run. To take them early in their conquest of New Mexico would keep them from spreading their knowledge. Convincing their elders to keep the information to themselves would serve their purposes. Their elders might see the need for a group like the Legion, willingly give themselves over, but he doubted it. The old had their pride just like the young, and only the already broken would easily submit.  
><em>

_Vulpes had only recently become a Frumentarii. He had been surprised when the Caesar and his Legate volunteered to enter the town with him. It had been unheard of for either of these great men to enter the fray so early. To go on a scouting missions such as this was unheard of, but they constantly warned him of the importance of this town. Perhpas that was why they came, why the Legate kept a notebook so close to his chest. The Legate's fascination with the populous became evident from the moment they first set eyes on the people. The men wore loose fitting pants and were muscular from years of training. The women wore a scant top and long skirts, adorned heavily with materials they had gathered and fashioned into jewelry. The Mamba Tribe was known all throughout New Mexico for its otherworldly habits and warriors, a perfect conquest for the Legion.  
><em>

"_We'll visit the library first," Graham spoke as they passed down the main street, watched on all sides by the people of Serpiente," I've heard their elders stay there. We may be able to integrate them peacefully."_

"_I do not believe it will be so, Legate. The men are fierce warriors and the women are unbridled and reckless. They will not be broken easily," Vulpes whispered._

"_If it will be bloodless, then all the better. These people have much to teach us. You will learn that soon enough."_

_The library was large and expansive, standing at an impressive four stories. The building had remained intact following the Apocalypse, many of its resources surviving the radiation. Outlandish music played over the speaker system, raining out into the main expanse of the town. Even in their library, their place of learning and wisdom, these unbridled women danced._

"_Joshua! What a surprise to see you!" A high pitched, excited woman's cry came forth from behind one of the doors._

_The Legate turned quickly, and was greeted by a small, graying redhead that burst forth from a pair of double doors and hugged him outright. Vulpes raised an eyebrow. The woman might have been in her forties, dressed in a doctor's uniform. High spirited for the kind of job she had. Blood, both fresh and dry, decorated the white coat over her blue scrubs._

"_Gaea. I was hoping to find you here. We need to talk."_

_Caesar took this moment to look Vulpes directly in the eye, and he whispered to him words that the Frumentarii would never forget," You are not to follow us. Should you do so, your punishment will be harsh. If you harm any of these people, you will pay with your life."_

_Two weeks later, Caesar's Legion marched into the town, capturing the men that fought, murdering the ones who tried to run, and enslaving the unbridled women that struggled and fought all the way back to the camp. Their books were burned. Their holotapes containing the music of their culture destroyed. Manuals for their hand-to-hand combat were all that survived the cleansing. Of the women, only Gaea went peacefully, and upon her arrival to the camp, was immediately given to the Legate._

_The others were fiercely broken, given upon their arrival to the most barbaric and distasteful of the Legionaries so that they might be taught a lesson. Each woman was stripped bare and thrown into the center of a hundred gathered men. They were told to chose the one they wanted, to fight for her, beat her to an inch of her worthless life if they had to, but never to kill her. They had to learn their place, and every one of them did._

_Of the men that suited the life of a Legionary, the one they called Octavian showed the most promise. He rose through the ranks of the standard outfit quickly, picking up on the morality code that the Legion held. He knew his place, but he advanced it with every passing assignment. Marcus was a true warrior, and he fought for a cause that many said was not the Legion, but freedom. He wanted Freedom._

_Vulpes did not see him again until the battle of Hoover Dam, and Octavian was one of the few Legionaries to return alive. On the day Joshua Graham earned the title of the Burned Man, Gaea was given to him. It was not until later that Vulpes discovered Gaea was the mother of this impeccable warrior, and by being owned by him, once more found protection._

_Vulpes even took one of these Mamba women for himself, and he thought her a prize. She was the most beauteous of them, all sinewy muscles and long, lusterous hair. She would have born him a son, had her body not given out on her eight months into her pregnancy, claiming not only her life but the life of the child as well. Her beauty had taken from her strength, and she did not have enough of it to carry a child. After this woman, Vulpes had never taken a slave. _

_Rumors circled that he had loved this woman, that the loss of her and the child had shook him so terribly that he would never lay with a woman again, but it was not so. Vulpes knew the rumors. The woman may have been a prize to put on display, but her personal worth was limited. The child had been of promise to him, but he had lost that. He let them go willingly, when their bodies were carried away, but he carried the memory of the lifeless child close. He did not want to relive such a thing._

_At the same time, Juno had given birth to her daughter, whose full name was Ariadne. After a long and hard labor, she had been gifted with a baby girl almost her copy. The child's father had long ago returned to the Ultra-luxe, beyond reach of the woman he had left behind in Freeside. Juno's father was somewhere in the Mojave, and she never found him. From the day Ariadne was born, Juno had promised to carve a future for her with her bare hands, and she worked and worked to feed and clothe her child. She began to hate the people on the Strip, spurned by a man who once claimed to love her, and all of her work became for the good of Freeside and the daughter she would raise there. Life treated her terribly for a long time, and she fought for everything.  
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_Seven short years after the birth of her child, Juno had risen to some kind of glory._

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><p>Deep in the iradiated bunker, Juno had made her choice.<p>

She had not upgraded the securitrons. She had destroyed Mr. House's bunker, and she knew why. Talking to him down there, after an already infuriating first meeting with Caesar, had left her frustrated and angry. Mr. House talked like he owned her, and she would be damned if he did. So she blew up his securitron army, and it felt great. Evidently, it had probably been a good idea that she had decided to take her daughter to the King, and not leave her daughter at the Lucky 38.

When she returned to speak to Caesar, she found herself in a more agreeable mood, and it seemed to her that he did as well. He greeted her with a smile of approval, and she returned it with a brief flash of her own smile. He seemed pleased by this, taking her smile as a sign of growing comfort among the Legion. The truth was that Juno had thought on the Legion while she was in the bunker.

Granted, the radiation might have influenced her train of thought, but she saw that Caesar's Legion, while it had a lot of bad sides, could do a lot that the NCR could not. She saw their 'justice' system as far more effective than that of the NCR. Truly, would it not stop prostitution to just turn them all into slaves? Would it not stop gang wars if you made all the gangs Legionaries, or killed the ones who tried to stay in their gangs? She liked the idea, even if it meant taking away some personal freedoms.

"I felt the quake. I assume you have destroyed the bunker?" He inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

Juno only smiled wide with pride and victory.

"As you ordered. I could see why it would be a threat to you, to have all of that down there."

"I'm glad you see why I asked you to perform this deed. I hope you prove to be a helpful ally," Caesar said.

Juno looked at him, churning a thought in her head before she spoke," As long as you do the same for me, I'm sure that can be arranged."

Vulpes entered Caesar's tent behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder at him for the briefest of moments. Their eyes met, and she turned her gaze away from him as Caesar spoke again. He had heard her, thought her statement curious. Caesar did too, and he rested his chin upon his palm, staring at the Courier intently.

"What are you asking of me, Courier?"

"My name is Juno, and I'm not asking anything of you yet. I'm still trying to figure out what I mean to do myself."

"Then let me help you out, my next task is for you to kill Mr. House."

Juno raised a brow, not out of surprise that he wanted Mr. House dead, but that Caesar would ask her. Surely he had more qualified servants, like Vulpes or the other Frumentarii. She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him, aware of Vulpes circling around her to stand near his leader. He continued to look at her, and just like the man he stood next to, tried to size her up. However, she felt more than curiosity about her actions in his gaze.

"I'm surprised you would ask that of me, Caesar. I wonder, do you already trust me enough with this task, or are you worried about wasting Legion lives on something that might not even be possible?"

"Consider it the later, Juno. However, I will be sending someone with you to make sure you actually perform the necessary actions," Caesar leaned back in his seat. He was testing her reaction.

She tried her best not to betray any kind of emotions toward his statement. She needed to keep herself looking strong in this society of men.

"And who might that be?" She asked, but she already knew the answer. Who else did Caesar send when it involved her?

"Vulpes Inculta will be going with you to the Lucky 38 to help you kill Mr. House."

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><p><em>Thank you for reading! Please leave any thoughts you have in reviews! <em>


	4. Chaos Inject

_This is going to be a longer chapter from the last two in order to make up for their shortness. Also, I thought I would address that the relationship between Vulpes and the Courier will be fluffy. That being said, please enjoy reading this longer chapter!_

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><p>"So, uhhh…"<p>

Silence hung in the air around Vulpes Inculta, Juno the Courier, and Cursor Lucullus like a disease. The unorthodox humidity in the air did little to make the silence any more comfortable. Juno had been the first to break it, a little bothered by the quiet archetype they both held themselves to keep. She huffed and sighed, stretching out her legs across the barge. Anything to get either man to speak up.

"Is there something you'd like to say, Courier?" Vulpes asked, glancing over at her.

Her pale skin was protected by her long, thin coat and a wide rimmed NCR Ranger's hat. The dark orange color of both her coat and the hat against the background of the desert almost camouflaged her. This must have helped her when she traveled alone, hiding her from the sights of predators and people that might want to kill her. She had enough experience in the field to know how to do that much.

"Just trying to find a way to make conversation. Its awful quiet and the ride to Cottonwood Cove is long."

"Then speak your mind, if there's anything on it."

Vulpes watched her continue stretching, pressing the toe of her boots against the barge to stretch her ankles. She let out a relieved sigh before speaking again, and she kept her eyes on him.

"Did you know you'd be coming with me?"

"No. I did not."

He had told her the truth. He had not known Caesar's intentions, and now that he would be alone with the Courier for some time, he assumed that he had been sent not only to be sure she completed her mission, but to gather information on her. He knew her name, but part of him did not feel right calling her Juno. It rang sacred in his ear, the name of the Legion's mother goddess. She had little purpose among the Legionaries, but the slaves looked to her because of her role in fertility and childbirth. This Courier, a mother herself, would probably be seen as a living embodiment of this goddess. He did not want to see the day the slaves made the connection.

"Well, I guess you should know that I had planned on sneaking in with a Stealth Boy and whatnot. I have two, so I guess we could still try it, but they're expensive…"

"I can repay you for whatever cost, if that's what you're worried about."

She shrugged at him and laid down, tilting her ranger's hat over her face to protect it from the sun," I don't know. It just feels weird to have someone going with me. I'm used to working alone."

"I do my best work alone," Vulpes noted.

"As do I."

He made a small noise of acknowledgement, eying the Courier up and down. She had the frame of a mother. Her hips were wide, built for supporting a child. Her breasts seemed ill proportionate to her height, and if she would roll over, he assumed her backside would be just the same. For a woman so short and small framed, he knew she had some kind of strength. It likely came from her time as a mother-in-waiting, carrying a child in her womb for nine months in the grueling Mojave Desert.

"I guess it'll be good to have someone to talk to about killing him. I mean, I don't even know if Mr. House is really a person. He could just be a computer system, one giant fucking computer system with an advanced artificial intelligence. Or like, some really messed up wrinkly old guy in a stasis tube."

"Have you thought about killing him for awhile now?" Vulpes asked.

"Since I went down into the bunker beneath the Fort. He's such a pretentious prick. Something about self-important, but really not so important people really pisses me off. I thought your Caesar was one of those people when I first met him, but I did a lot of thinking down in that radiation."

"I would hope you saw the light of Caesar's vision."

"In a way, but there are a lot of things I don't agree with. I agree far less with Mr. House and the NCR, so… You get my vote for now."

He decided not to press the issue. He knew she would not immediately chose sides and confirm her loyalties, but it had been his hope that she would quickly become part of the Legion. As much as he hated to admit it, they needed her. She had a habit of getting things done. He had seen that much in all of the time he spent following her around the desert, watching her accomplish great things without so much as a robotic dog to help her.

"Where are you from, Courier?"

"My name is Juno, Vulpes. You can call me Juno, and I'm from New Mexico."

They talked about where they were both from all the way to Cottonwood Cove. Vulpes had been surprised to find out that she was from the same tribe as Gaea the slave and the woman who had been the mother of his stillborn child. She told him that she knew all about the dancing, but he could not bring himself to tell her that they had been integrated into the Legion. At least, not yet. The timing could ruin her alliance with them.

He told her of how he grew up in the Legion, that he knew he was originally from Utah. He did not tell her much else, and really, there was little else to tell. His past had not been an interesting one before he became a Frumentarii. After that, his world grew infinitely and his possibilities became endless. She did not inquire about what he did after that, or his personal life, so he spoke nothing of it.

Once they were on the trail for the Vegas Strip, Juno began telling him about her daughter, and how she came to have her.

_I met this guy named Vigo, right? Silly name, I guess, but he was handsome and damn good with words and I was seventeen. I didn't know any better. I met him when my dad delivered some cattle to the Ultra-Luxe for a deal he made. Vigo was from the White Glove Society, by the way. He bought me a drink, and we talked for a long time. He called me pretty. People didn't call me pretty back home. The red hair was pretty standard fare there, and it was what he liked most about me. It made me happy._

_So I visited him every time my dad went to the Strip for a deal, and after a few months, we slept together and decided to run away. We went to Primm for awhile, stayed there for a month or so. I found out I was pregnant, and I told him. 'Said we'd be together forever and shit like that, and he'd love our baby more than anything. I went to bed cuddled up in his arms and so excited for the future._

_When I woke up, I was alone. He left me a note telling me that he couldn't take life outside of the Strip and that he didn't want the baby. So I packed up, headed to Freeside, and started my life up there. I couldn't find my father, so it was just me and a baby, growing inside of me._

_Worked and worked even when I was pregnant, eating irradiated food that I could get from the stores, fixing machinery and helping with surgeries for the Followers of the Apocalypse. I kept doing that after Ariadne was born, and then I took the Courier job a few months back. Here I am, walking down the Mojave with Caesar's Frumentarii commander-type._

She just smiled at him, like none of it bothered her. Vulpes now understood the source of the Courier's strength. She had worked hard, built from nothing a future for herself and her child. This would be news for Caesar. He would need to understand the woman to know best how to bend her to his will.

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><p>When they arrived at Freeside, The Courier insisted that they stop at the King's to visit her daughter and give Vulpes and opportunity to gear up. He had changed before they entered the city, but he had to prepare his weapons. He found that Juno was always prepared with pistols strapped to either hip, knives on either calf, clips of ammo on either thigh, and a shotgun and hunting rifle strapped to her back, all of these things well kept and fully loaded.<p>

"Mommy!" The small, redheaded child came running at them when they arrived inside of the King's, carrying her stuffed animal in hand.

Juno glowed instantly, kneeling to gather up her child in her arms and spin her around. She suddenly had this happiness all about her that Vulpes could not understand but knew its value. It was a mother's happiness. A mother's love.

"Hello, sweetie. I just wanted to come say hello. Mommy will be back later today and she's going to take you on a big adventure. Would you like to go on an adventure with mommy and her new friend?"

The child looked over her mother's shoulder at Vulpes. She had big green eyes, like her mother, and she stared right at him, almost like she was looking into his soul. The child proved to be unnerving, if only for this reason. She sized him up as a human being without even talking to him, and he wondered if all children did this, or just the child of a mother goddess.

"What's your friend's name, mommy?"

"You may call me Mr. Fox," Vulpes spoke to the child.

Juno turned around, her daughter's gaze at him being broken, and she smiled at him," Yes. Mr. Fox. He's a nice man that's going to help mommy finish some business so she can play with you more."

Juno had put a lot of trust in him in that simple sentence, and he was not sure if she really knew the implications of her words. He wondered just how much business she had left to finish, and how much of it he would be helping her with. The way she looked and spoke to him made him feel like she was trying to draw him in, and he hated that idea. He knew her to use similar techniques to get what she wants, citing the incident with Benny (even if her tactics were far more seductive than trust-building then).

"Will Mr. Fox play with me too?" Ari asked as her mother sat her on the ground once more.

"Maybe," Juno answered for him. The looked on her face betrayed to him that she did not see him partaking in play with her daughter," We're gonna go get ready to leave sweetie. Momma will see you in a few hours, I promise."

"Okay!" Ari smiled wide, looking from her mother to Vulpes, and then taking off for a room nearby.

After her daughter left, Juno led Vulpes to one of the bedrooms used by the Kings. Once they were in it, he wasted no time in going through his things, preparing his weapons for what he assumed could be a very ugly battle. Nearby, Juno had also gone digging through her bags.

"Here. We're going to try to sneak in. We don't need anyone getting hurt," She tossed her spare Stealth Boy at him, the piece of machinery landing with a soft bounce on a mattress close to him.

Vulpes looked down at it, and then to Juno, who had within a few seconds turned her gaze away and once more into her bag. He did not respond to her, and she just kept talking.

"I brought some healing powders just in case.. I know how you Legionaries feel about chems."

"How considerate of you." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable, and she just responded with a chuckle.

"Alright. No more talk. Got it."

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><p>The Lucky 38 loomed over them like a citadel of death. Juno dreaded returning to it, especially considering that she had to account for Vulpes now. She did not doubt his capabilities, but she did not want to see him get hurt. It would be a waste of his talents and her time if House's robots happened to hit him in just the right place with a laser. She found it funny to be concerned about him yet carefree about her own health and safety. It came with experience, she supposed, and wordlessly approached the doors.<p>

"One. Two. Three."

Simultaneously, they activated their stealth boys and passed through the main doors of the casino. House's securitrons did not react, and for that she considered herself lucky. She grabbed onto Vulpes' arm as a way to keep tabs on him with the stealth boys activated, and his muscles tensed beneath her fingers. He must not be used to touch, or at least hers. She didn't linger on the thought too much as they snuck between each robot and neared the elevator.

She pressed the button to bring it down, and was surprised when none of the securitrons turned to check on it. Luck gave her the sound assurance that the securitrons did not react to environmental change, but other sounds would surely alert them. They had to be careful once they reached the penthouse.

"It won't be long now," she spoke after the doors closed, her hand still grabbing Vulpes' forearm," The stealth boys might not last long enough for us to make it into the central chamber, so run like hell if they go off. The securitrons can hurt, and they won't go into other rooms or areas."

"If that is what it takes," Vulpes responded, the will in his voice shaking for just a moment.

She noticed this immediately, even after being around him for only one day of travel. His inflections were easy to understand for her, and what came from his mouth in that moment, when they waited for the doors to open and she held his arm firmly with her left hand, was not normal for him. Something was wrong, and she made a note to ask when they were safer.

As the doors opened, she heard the grinding noise of the securitrons at the door turning, but she felt Vulpes move forward. She followed rather than yank on his arm and ask him to wait. The keen edge of alarm had not raised itself on the hairs of her neck yet, and she felt safe moving forward.

She knew her way around the penthouse chamber well, and lead Vulpes around each corner in hopes that they would have enough time for her to unlock both doors before their stealth boys wore off. Time felt thin, unraveling faster than they could move. Worry set in. Alarm would follow soon.

She let go of him when she reached a computer terminal attached to the wall, very close to a securitron. She felt Vulpes reach out and feel for her, to make sure she was still there. His hands found her shoulder, and there it remained. The only sounds floating through the air reminded her of the unnatural robotic sounds of vaults. She hated the place, and much preferred the sound of Vulpes' breath, quiet and relaxed among all of the machinery.

The keyboard popped out for her and she typed in the passwords quickly, watching for the securitron to just turn and fire a laser straight at her face. The red alert went off in her head, warning her to go faster and watch out for everything as she unlocked the door. That's when the real red alert went off, securitrons at full alert and alarms blaring out the only natural noise she had been able to hear.

Vulpes used his hold on her shoulder to drag her around the securitron and through the door as quickly as possible. He moved so silently that the securitron they passed did not hear him, but it swiveled around at the sound of Juno's guns bashing together in the hurried movement. It raised its weapons and took aim in the direction of the sound, blindly firing into the air before it. Juno had been luckily missed. Vulpes had not.

The first laser passed through his thigh, dropping him to his knee for just a moment. Blood splattered onto the crisp, clean floor of the penthouse, bubbling from the heat of the laser. Vulpes had been soundless even at his injury, and this astounded the woman who took the initiative and helped him up, running for the second door now.

Lasers fired at the spot of blood, narrowly missing them both. The whole way to the second terminal she prayed that the laser had cauterized the wound. It would be easier to treat that way, less chems would have to be used. He would have to rest. Juno did not delight in the sound of that. Vulpes seemed like a restless, always moving man, and likely wouldn't stop for a near fatal bullet wound, yet alone a laser wound that may or may not have passed through bone.

She set him down near her, and worked at the second terminal as she felt his hand grab her ankle. He had fallen and sat down, even as lasers continued to blast at them, but this did not mean his actions were those of a beaten soldier. He took out the only one handed gun he had brought with him and fired on the securitrons that neared him, providing cover fire for the woman trying to open the door. Juno felt grateful for him, sorry for the wound that had crippled his movements for now.

When she opened the door, she used the knowledge that he was at her feet to grab onto him and heave him up with all of her physical strength, ducking through the large metal doors and crashing into the floor. At once, they landed on their backs, staring up into the metal ceiling of the central chamber, worn out and panting for air.

At once, their stealth boys finally gave way. Juno decided that after that moment, she would probably never use one ever again. Their timing proved to be too inaccurate, and she could never be sure when they would give out on her and leave her vulnerable.

She rolled, reaching for Vulpes even though she could see him, casting her eyes down the length of the floor," Are you okay?"

He groaned, but his response sounded sure," I will be fine."

"I'll take a look at it soon. I think we're safe now," She patted his shoulder and stood.

If this is what it took to be immortal, then Juno would have no part in it. She walked toward what she assumed was some kind of hibernation chamber, or antibacterial tube thing to preserve House's body. She could see his withered, unnatural form through the fogy glass, and it nauseated her as she stepped forward, resting her hands on the keyboard of the terminal that would control it.

She heard Vulpes stand and limp in her direction, sign enough to her that the wound had caused damage as it passed through his thigh and that she would have to treat him in the suite she would call her home after that day. She keyed in the password once more and released Mr. House from the safety of his chamber, looking at him as he emerged, cursing her name with each labored, unnatural breath.

"You're disgusting," She said without regard to his questioning insults. Something about all of this left her unsettled, sickened.

"I could have given you anything! You're going to destroy everything I worked so hard to build," Mr. House heaved, each syllable labored and harsh.

Juno looked to Vulpes, who stood silent and watchful just beside her. The look on his face commanded action without words, and she knew it was time to do what they had come to do. Without response to his gaze, her hand drifted to Maria, Benny's old gun, and she thought it would be fitting.

"Do you recognize this gun, Mr. House? It was Benny's. If I hadn't have killed him, and if the Legion hadn't have killed him when he went to the Fort after those securitrons, it would be him standing here right now… Ready to put a bullet in your head."

"I misjudged him. He was worthless."

"And you misjudged me. I am not worthless, nor am I an idiot. I knew that something about you wasn't right, and now I see what that was. You're a miserable, empty husk of a human being. You forgot what was good about the world, and you sentenced yourself to rot in there and live through a computer system. What kind of life is that, you crackpot old fool?" Juno raised the gun and steadied it, aiming for just between his eyes.

"I could have given you everything! Vegas could have been yours. That is what is good in the world. It is the only thing that's real. You would have been the face of my new empire! It will be no different if you take the Mojave for the Legion! You will only be the face of their new world!"

"That's where you're wrong, Mr. House. There are human beings in the Legion. Good, hardworking human beings fighting for what they believe in, even if its a little twisted. That's what is good about the world. Humans working together for a brighter future. Your world is a steel fabrication of lies. You gave some terrible people the keys to the kingdom, and you opened up a Vegas Strip of sin and lies and corruption and violence. It will be cleansed one way or another, and I will certainly not see it done by a vegetated, remnant of what was once a human. You are a gross misuse of humanity, and you deserve no better than this bullet between your eyes. I hope that death takes you into its arms and carries you to hell, Mr. House. It is where you belong."

She breathed deeply as Mr. House cursed her name once more, and with one swift squeeze of the trigger, ended the legacy of Robco's greatest misjudgment. One less violation of humanity remained on the earth, and she was one step closer to the future she wanted for her baby.


	5. A Brief Rest

_Holy updates, batman! It seems that I'm on a roll here, and here is yet another longer update! Thank you to everyone that is reviewing, even if its just a little thought you had while you were reading. Here's some adorable Vulpes encountering a tiny, adorable child for your troubles.  
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><p>Vulpes awoke to the rocking, rhythmic beats of some outlandish music playing over a speaker. He felt the touch of delicate, agile fingers upon the flesh of his thigh, working at a bandage. It occurred to him in that moment that Juno had taken him to the penthouse level, forcibly laid him down in the main bedroom and sedated him.<p>

He had outright refused her medical attentions after they left Mr. House's central chamber. With his leg so crippled by the shot, a great big hole shot through his femur that his entire leg threatened to collapse and snap the remaining bone, he could not fight her as he otherwise would have. She took advantage of that and sedated him as soon as she could get him still for more than a second.

She must have thought him a petulant child.

Still, she sat at the edge of the bed with her gaze upon the wound, a fine haze over the green of her eyes. He could not define this haze, and he wondered if it could be guilt or worry. Her hands gently worked to treat his wound, much to his dismay without the chems she had used to sedate him. When his leg moved beneath her fingertips, she realized he was awake and looked straight at him, smiling.

"I'm sorry, Vulpes, but I had to see how bad it was. You should have said something. I'm surprised you didn't just burst into agonizing screaming when the laser went through."

He did not respond, but only watched her with knowing eyes. She had changed into the garb he knew the women from her tribe to wear, all of the little baubles and jewelry she would be wearing set off to the side. She wore the Mamba's garb in crimson, the color of the Legion. He found it suited her. She had been born with red hair on her head, it only made sense that the color suited her skin.

"Ari left Cheshire with you when you were sleeping. She said he'd keep you company if you woke up when I was making dinner. She's concerned about you," she just kept on talking, trying to elicit a response from him.

He turned his head to the side, catching sight of the stuffed black fox, sitting upon the edge of a nearby nightstand. The bead eyes of the toy stared back at him, and he tilted his head. His clothes were right next to it, but he paid that no mind. With Juno's fingers securing another bandage over his wound, he had already surmised that she had changed his clothing in order to treat it.

"Does she do that often, give her toy to men you introduce her to?"

"If she likes them. I guess since she doesn't know about the crucifixions and profligate nonsense, she's judging you on your strong character. She likes that. Its why she's so fond of the King."

"The King and I are two different men. We are nothing alike," Vulpes sighed.

"That is not so. You both have a job to do and you do it well. You're both leaders, taking care of your people in one way or another, and you're strong. You more so than him, I think. I don't think the King could get shot through the femur and swallow down the urge to cry for his mommy."

He took this as a compliment, a small swell of pride beneath his chest. He wondered if that moment had impressed her, but he knew better than to linger on that too long. A woman like her was dangerous. She could snare him in a trap and murder him in his sleep….. But if that had been her intention, would she not have done so already? Perhaps she had already made up her mind and chosen the Legion. He had been her first encounter with them, and he would likely remain in her fragile world until the day New Vegas was conquered.

"I know you aren't going to like this… But I gave you a stimpak or two to help with the bone," she recoiled, expecting retaliation.

He did not strike out at her, but he felt a twinge of anger. He waited to hear her reasoning.

"The faster you heal, the faster we can get back to Caesar and let him know we aren't dead."

Good answer.

He laid back, and she appeared to take it as a sign that he forgave her. Juno relaxed in her seat upon the bed, and looked up at him.

"Get some rest, Vulpes. I'll bring you something to eat."

The personification of a mother goddess walked out of the bedroom, leaving him behind in a room swimming in dark colors and strange materials. The blanket beneath him felt strange against his skin, almost like silk. He found that he liked the feeling, but it was alien to him. He wondered if the woman that had left him behind had slept there before, slept beside him when she had sedated him to make sure he did not snap his leg in his sleep.

As the sounds of tribal drums and brass wind instruments thundered through the area, coupled with the sounds of a little girl's delight giggles, he reached down to feel a wooden board against the right side of his leg. It had likely been that piece of wood that kept him from rolling over to fast or too hard in his sleep and snapping the remnants of his femur. He trusted the profligate's medicine to heal it and keep him in action. She would have told him if it could cripple him forever.

He thought about what the Legion taught them about the Courier's namesake. When he was a child, they told him that Juno had willed unto Caesar that every child brought into the Legion be raised in a fashion that would help them grow to their higher purpose. Boys began training as Legionaries at a very young age. The young girls began their work as slaves before they even saw the first signs of their womanhood. Juno guided and protected them, taking the weak into her arms in the form of death. She watched over each birth of Legion children, killing those that would not grow to usefulness and taking the mothers whose will would not carry them through motherhood. That had been all Mars had told to Caesar. Juno, the Mother of the Legion, was a stern, disciplinary mother, and she treated all her children with the harsh love that bred warriors and strong, agile slave women.

The Courier did not prove to be such a stern mother. From the sounds in the other room, she encouraged the silliness of her little girl. She taught her to be wild and carefree, allowing her free roam of what he assumed was a spacious suite. He could hear Juno loudly confirm that her only stipulation was that Ari not touch the elevator buttons. Almost free roam.

From what he had seen of her so far, she only became harsh and stern with men, particularly when they showed signs of foolishness. He did his best not to be such a man, but when his leg had been crippled, he found the foolishness to be out of his control. She had reeled him back in and cared for him when he had rested. Juno had shown signs of the motherly strength he knew her to have.

The door to the bedroom opened again, but Vulpes was not greeted by the sight of Juno presenting him food. Little Ariadne stepped through a small crack in the door, closed it very quietly behind her, and pranced in his direction with a big smile on her face.

"You're awake, Mr. Fox!" She seemed very happy with this discovery.

She climbed up onto the bed, sitting down just next to him. She was so cheerful, the smile on her face never seeming to end. Juno had raised this girl to make her happy, a shining light in the bleak Mojave Desert.

"It seems that I am."

"I left Cheshire with you to keep you company. Momma stayed in here all night to make sure you didn't get up and try to walk out. She's worried about your leg," Ari nodded.

"Is that so?"

"Mmmhmmm. She said she didn't have a machine thingy to look at the damage, so she didn't know how bad it really was. She's making us all food now."

"Did she tell you to come in here and talk to me?" Vulpes sat up, dragging his body up.

"No, but she told me I couldn't help her cook cause she's using oil. She's afraid it'll spatter on my face and hurt me."

He looked at this child and saw innocence, an innocence he never saw in children from the Legion. The Goddess Juno broke them of it in their earliest years, perhaps even when they were still in the womb. Ariadne had been sheltered and protected by her mother to the best of her abilities, and so far, he could see it in action. The child regarded him with trust as if she had known him her entire life. Ariadne had given him her most prized possession, the little black fox, and she sat alone with him with a big smile across her face. This little child eagerly tried to worm her way into his heart, and like her mother, he found her own unique charms hard to resist.

"Your mother is a very caring woman," Vulpes noted.

"I think so too. She likes to help people. She took care of your leg before she even came to get me. I was scared for you, Mr. Fox. There was a big hole in your leg!"

She crawled up further on the bed, and tried to lay her head against his chest. In this moment, Vulpes found himself bewildered and unsure of how to react to this child. Should he let her lay down by him as if he were her father? Should he scold her and bluntly state that she was not allowed to do such a thing? As he puzzled over what to do, Ariadne had moved to sit next to him and lean against him.

"Mommy says you're from a place that's a lot different from here. What's it like? Can you tell me a story about it?"

Vulpes cringed. Story time. This small child had already began to equate him as a father figure.

"Well… I grew up in the Legion…"

He told her the epic tale of how Caesar's Legion came to be, how he gathered up and conquered tribe after tribe, integrating them for the greater purpose of shaping a new world. Ariadne seemed to be enthralled with the story, or perhaps just the way Vulpes told it. He never strayed from the story he had been told as a child, told the little girl just as his teacher had told him. He told her the plain facts, that women born into the Legion were enslaved. She would not be so because her mother would protect her, and her mother would not be a slave either. Ariadne showed relief when he told her that, and patiently, she waited and listened as Juno prepared dinner for them.

* * *

><p>Outside the door, Juno lingered with two trays of food balanced in her arms. She smiled to herself, listening to Vulpes tell Ariadne all about the Legion as her daughter simultaneously softened his heart. She found her little girl had that effect on everyone, showed them their softer sides. If she had that kind of power, maybe Juno would not be in the same position she was in. Maybe she could have found a good, strong, but still soft-hearted man to take care of her and her daughter. She set that thought aside, knowing all to well she was better of this way, and came through the door with a small.<p>

"Bon appetite, you two. Its not much, but its something. After you eat, we'll get you up and on your feet to see how your leg is holding up, Vulpes."

Juno walked around the bed and sat the trays near the center, just within Vulpes' reach. He appeared uncomfortable with her daughter's proximity and immediately relieved when the call of hunger brought the little girl away from his side and closer to the assortment of fresh foods her mother had brought to them. Juno could have laughed, but she spared Vulpes the embarrassment that would accompany such a gesture.

"You didn't bother Mr. Fox too much, did you sweetie?" Juno asked, looking at her daughter.

"Nooooooo. Mr. Fox told me a story about the people we're going to go see."

Juno smiled, scooting toward the headboard of the bed to lean against it as she ate. As she conversed with her daughter, Vulpes ate in silence, listening closely and remaining as aware and alert as if his leg had never been so injured.

"Oh, did he now? Are you scared of them after his story?"

"Nope, nope! Mr. Fox told me you would protect me from becoming a slave lady," Ari loudly proclaimed. She knew everything about the Legion, and she wanted her mother to know it.

Juno just laughed at her, reaching out to rub her daughter's head," He's right, though. I won't let them do anything to you. I promise."

"I know you won't, mommy. You're the best mommy ever and you're always taking care of me! No mean people are ever gonna hurt me when you're around."

Juno felt her heart melt just as it always did when Ariadne opened her mouth and let all of her cute thoughts spill forth. She knew how to make her mother smile.

"Shush now and eat your dinner. If Mr. Fox's leg is better, we're going to leave in the morning and you're going to need your strength, little missy."

"Well, so will you if you are gonna carry me on our big adventure!" Ariadne stuck her tongue out at her mother, which earned her a playful gasp from Juno.

"Well, I never! Maybe I'll make you walk the whole way, you silly thing!"

They carried on like this the whole time they were eating, and Vulpes watched them play over their food. Juno glowed with motherly affection, showering her daughter in a mist of praises and jokes. She had this way of keeping her child constantly happy, and it impressed him. If she was this devoted to her child, he could only imagine how the Legion would prosper from her attentions.


	6. Change

_In a horrific turn of events, my old laptop committed suicide. It was quickly replaced due to my dire need for a new one for the approaching fall semester of college, and it is from my new laptop that I bring you this action packed chapter!_

_Thislegofmine - Thank you for your frequent reviews. Its nice to hear even little thoughts from people, and I assure you, Ari's world will be rocked._

* * *

><p>"It's hot, mommy."<p>

Ariadne had stolen her mother's ranger hat, all of her red hair having been engulfed by the hat that was far too big for her. Juno had replaced the hat with a crimson headscarf to fit upon her head in place of the hat Ariadne has stolen, dragged out to drape over her forehead and provide some cover from the sun. Juno's eyes were always upon Vulpes Inculta, watching for any signs of weakness and offering to rest at the first sign of a limp. His leg had healed for the most part, but not quite to where it was safe for him to trek across the Mojave on it. The only reason they had left for the Fort was because he insisted that he would be alright, and he never once vocalized if he felt any pain from his wound to the two women accompanying him.

"I know, but we're almost there," Juno consoled her child, leading her by the hand.

Juno insisted that they stop in Novac once they had finally reached it, and she was thankful that Vulpes had not changed back into his Legion attire. She could see Manny waiting to pull the trigger on any man dressed in Legion crimsons from his post at the dinosaur, and she waved 'to him with her free hand. The sniper returned the wave.

"We can stop here for the night, Vulpes. You should get off of your leg for a while," She noted as she lead him through the gate to the hotel.

"Perhaps that would be a good idea," Vulpes said, acknowledging her suggestion.

When they reached the steps to the second floor of rooms, Juno's eyes immediately fell upon him, watching for any sign that he might need her aid. The scrutiny of her gaze was almost suffocating, but the concern flowed out and gave him breath. He realized that she had this effect on him days ago, and it bothered him.

In the days that he had spent in her constant company, Vulpes had found that Juno had all the qualities of women that he had never encountered before. Strength. Intelligence. Endurance. Consistency. The ability to deliver results, that is, useful and overwhelming results. She acted like a soldier motivated by the will to protect. What she protected many might dispute, but he knew better. Juno fought for her child, and at this point in her campaign in the Mojave, she had no other motivators. He hoped that would change.

He found the steps easier to scale than he had anticipated, the weight of his body upon his right leg little more than a heavy burden. The pain was fleeting, sparking out in little waves up and down his leg. This could be bared, and he did so with such composure that he had once again fooled the watchful eyes of Juno. She did not know his leg caused him even the slightest discomfort, or perhaps she did and simply gave him the benefit of the doubt. He could never tell with her.

Juno went ahead of him after he reached the top of the steps and opened the door to the room she had been given by the citizens of Novac. She let out a deep sigh. She sounded displeased or annoyed.

"It's small, but it'll do. I guess one of us can sleep on the couch, and the other can sleep on the bed with Ari. If it doesn't bother you, Vulpes, I'd prefer you sleep on the bed. It'd be a better angle for your leg than the couch."

Ariadne ran in and jumped onto the bed, letting out a relieved sigh as her little body sank in to the broken down mattress. Her relief was palpable in the air, and her usually big smile grew wide in a sign of greater happiness. She seemed so glad to be off of her feet.

Juno entered after her daughter, and as Vulpes walked around the corner, he realized Juno had not been lying when she told him the room was small. The meager setting would barely give them enough room to rest, the couch so small that he wondered why Juno chose to sleep there. Maybe she too felt an alien tension between them, something Vulpes had not experienced in a long time. She made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, made him constantly alert of her every movement and action. He did not feel this way out of fear or being threatened, and that was what worried him.

Juno began to disarm herself, placing each weapon onto a bookshelf not too far from the bed. As she did so, he heard her giving Ariadne the same speech she did every time she brought out her weapons. The child was not to touch them, and if she did, the punishment would be harsh. Ariadne only nodded and smiled, too content to lay in bed and hold her stuffed fox to pay mind to her mother's warnings. Vulpes sat down on the corner of the bed, stretching out his leg and watching the woman lay out her guns and knives like surgical tools, closely inspecting them as she freed her long red hair from its hold beneath the crimson cloth that had hidden her face from the sun.

The only sounds that echoed through the room were Ariadne's humming and the constant clicking and clanking of Juno's weapons as she tested triggers and arranged her knives. She spent the better part of twenty minutes at this, and by the time she had finished, Vulpes had disarmed and haphazardly placed everything on the second shelf of the bookshelf, but he made sure to unload his guns for the sake of the little girl who would be sharing his bed that night.

* * *

><p>The night had been quiet, too quiet for Vulpes' liking. Not too long after they had arrived in Novac, Ariadne and Juno went to sleep. While he rolled over, restless and incapable of sleep, both of his companions had drifted off into their dream land with ease. Ari lay beside him, snoozing away happily with her stuffed animal in her arms. She never let that thing go. Juno had squeezed herself into an uncomfortable position on the couch, reclaiming her hat from her daughter's possession to cover her eyes. He thought the sound of their breath might help him fall away to sleep, but his thoughts got the better of him.<p>

What was he doing there?

Caesar had sent him with Juno. That was the truth, but now that he slept only feet away from the woman who held the future of the Legion in her hands, he wondered if his intentions would get away from him. She had a beauty about her different than other women. While physically attractive, her capabilities were what drew him to her in the first place. He had known since he first met her that she was different. He knew from the moment that she raised her 9mm pistol and freed some of the gangsters from their torture at Nipton that she was merciful, but she knew better than to let it get ahead of her. She had intrigued him from the beginning, and now she showed him the trust to let him stay in the same room with her and her daughter while they both slept as peacefully as if he were not there at all. As much as she caught his attention, she puzzled him.

He rolled once more and faced her. Her right leg dangled over the side of the couch while her left calf hung over the arm of it. Her neck bent at a ridiculous angle, and the rest of her body scrunched up in the rest of the space. She looked so uncomfortable, but her breath remained as steady as it had in the nights she slept nearby at the Lucky 38. She never let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes, the ever watchful doctor that she pretended to be. Most of her face hid behind the wide rim of her ranger's hat, the pale skin of her cheek all he could see. Like ivory, her skin showed little imperfections, marred only by the scars left by youth.

Slowly, Vulpes sat up and crawled out of bed, arming himself before he went outside. He needed to get some air. He needed to comb through his thoughts without the embodiment of a mother goddess just feet away from him.

The night air of Novac tasted stale and old, like a forgotten piece of garbage. He had never liked Novac in the first place, but as he glanced over the little hovels and decrepit dinosaur that helped snipers keep watch over the worthless town, he decided that when the time came, he would have to convince Caesar to wipe it off the map. Without another thought he descended down the stairs, eager to explore what ought to be destroyed. It would be a good way to get his mind off of the little girl and her mother.

* * *

><p>Juno had not heard Vulpes go, but when the door creaked open again, it had been enough to stir her from her sleep. Her dreams left her, and she began to sit up with a groan. The sound of careful footsteps made her more alert, and within moments, she would realize she should have locked the door.<p>

"Vulpes, where are you go-"

She did not have enough time to get her sentence out. Someone had firmly grasped around her mouth and held onto her tight, restraining her arms and keeping her hat over her eyes. The person holding onto her did not feel like she imagined Vulpes to feel. He had not betrayed her, and she would not allow herself to believe it until she managed to wiggle out of this strangle hold.

Juno fought and fought, sounds of her struggle stirring up in the room. She prayed not to wake Ariadne, but she knew it would happen. As she was dragged off the couch, Juno used this opportunity to swing her leg back and attempt to strike the person holding onto her. Booted foot collided with a weakly protected spine and the person holding onto her yelped and dropped her.

She rolled over instantly as she fell, pulling away her hat and sizing up whomever had tried to take her. She did not know the man's face, but she knew the armor he wore. Ranger. A ranger, or two or three as it seemed, had come to either take her or kill her. Their silent operation had clearly been aborted. They reached for guns.

Juno's first instinct was to sit up and grab her child off the bed, dragging the disturbed Ariadne around it and shoving her beneath the mattress. Ariadne loudly screamed as shots were fired, and Juno ducked as low as she could. She thanked whatever god there was that the shelf of weaponry had been so close, and she reached for her trusty 9mm pistol, pulled the safety, and shot at the nearest ranger.

Ariadne screamed," Mommy! What's going on?"

"Nothing, Ari. Stay down! Momma's got this!"

She got his arm, and he dropped his rifle with a resounding cry. This had been the same poor bastard she had kicked herself away from, and one of his companions came forward with a syringe. Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she realized they meant to sedate her, and like a cornered tiger, she lashed out with her weapon as much as she could. She killed the one she had wounded before, earning a perfect headshot. She stood to try and get away from the one coming after her with a syringe and tried to load her 9mm as she backed herself into the corner, fear and realization in her eyes. Had she failed Ariadne?

The ranger had come to close for her to get away from the syringe. She knew that much as she raised her loaded gun. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger, hearing him cry out and fall at her. She fell hard against the wall, the hulking ranger using all of his dying strength to keep her still and sedate her for the other one. She lost grip of her gun and it slid away from her, and in her drug induced haze, she did not see where it got off to.

Juno struggled to hold herself against the wall, feeling the second dead ranger slide away from her after using himself up. The third one came at her, this one a woman. She looked at the bed, aware of Ariadne's presence, and Juno managed a simple sentence.

"Please.. Don't do anything to her. She's too young to understand.."

This ranger must have heard her plea as she approached Juno and went to grab onto her. However, a shot was fired. This third ranger fell at Juno's feet, and as the Courier began to sink into slumber, her eyes fell upon the shooter. Ariadne had taken her gun from the ground and shot.

"You aren't going to hurt my mommy anymore!" Her voice shook.

Juno felt distressed at this sight, the fear and hatred in her daughter's eyes shaking her to her very core. Perhaps she had failed her daughter, failed at protecting her from a world too harsh for her to remain innocent. In this moment of clarity, just before she sank into darkness, Juno told herself that there had to be something she could do to prepare Ariadne for the truth.

Just behind her, Juno saw three hazy figures enter the room, two of them wearing first recon berets, and the other a shadow of leather armor.

"Vulpes?..."

* * *

><p>Vulpes sprinted forward and around Ariadne to catch Juno before she fell into the pile of bodies around her. She felt light, lifeless in his arms. He surveyed the ground, noting the syringe that had fallen out of Juno's neck. She had not been wounded, but she had been drugged. He could feel his leg screaming at him now, shooting pain through him after the sprint. He still felt a little crippled by it, but in the heat of the moment he had forgotten and did all he could to spare Juno a direct descent into the ground.<p>

Vulpes sat down and pressed his back to the wall, holding onto Juno and casting his gaze at Ariadne now. She dropped the gun and ran at him, bursting into tears. She joined her mother against him and cried into his free shoulder. This was all a little too much for him. The poor girl had taken her first life, and she did not know how to react.

The two men that had run in behind him surveyed the scene, standing a great distance from each other as they entered the room.

"My god," the darker skinned one began," What did Juno do to get this done to her?"

The taller, sterner man between the two of them ignored him and looked straight at Vulpes.

"She called you Vulpes. Vulpes Inculta, right? What the fuck is a Legionary dog doing here with her?" The taller one, whom Vulpes would later learn was named Boone, raised his sniper rifle and pointed it straight at him.

"If you want to know the truth, the Courier has joined the Legion in its conquest of the Mojave."

It still felt unnatural to even try to say her name.

"Juno's too good for that shit." The other sniper said confidently.

"You can ask her when she wakes up, if you like," Vulpes sighed.

Under the weight of a crying child, an unconscious mother, and surrounded by bodies of NCR rangers, he doubted his chances of getting out of this with violence were very high. Like on the Strip, he would have to talk his way out of this one.

"I don't think we should wait. Let's kill him, Manny," Boone's hold on his rifle tightened, but then his companion spoke up.

"Wait! Are you really gonna shoot at him, with Juno and her kid right there with him? After what she did for you, man?" The second man reached out and put his hand on the end of the sniper rifle, putting pressure on it to try to push It down.

Vulpes did not know what Juno had done for the man threatening to put a bullet between his eyes, but deep down he hoped it would be enough to convince the man to back out of his threat.

Boone kept his gaze down the barrel of the rifle, and intense gaze going between him and Vulpes. It became a standoff, a challenge to see who would back down first. Vulpes had nowhere to go. Either he would be shot or one of the women with him would be. He doubted that the sniper would have the guts to handle the fact that he had shot the most innocent of them. After a moment, he felt the tense muscles in his chest loosen suddenly as the sniper let his friend push the gun down toward the ground.

"Get out. When she wakes up, tell her if I ever see her, or you, ever again I will not hesitate to pull the fucking trigger."

The snipers left, the more peaceful of them glancing back as he exited. Vulpes let out a sigh of relief, leaning his head back against the wall and staring up at the ceiling. What had he gotten himself into?


	7. Burden

Juno weighed him down as Vulpes carried her out of Novac. He took the sniper seriously; loaded up everything he could carry (including the Courier), Vulpes walked out of Novac in the dead of night. His leg threatened to collapse, but the pain did little to halter his progress. Little Ariadne had taken from him whatever she could, which was not much, and even with his injured leg trailed behind him. The little girl remained shocked, worried for her mother, and worried for Mr. Fox. He knew it because she kept asking him if he was okay. He had to keep telling her that he was, at least until he felt safe to sit her mother down and take the weight off of his shoulders.

The expanse of desert he had to cross before he felt like he had delivered her from the sights of Boone seemed to go on and on, the pain in his leg distorting the distance. Only the little girl, who never stopped humming in an attempt to calm herself, kept him aware that it really would not be so long until he could deliver the girl and her mother to a much safer place. He vowed to himself that he would not go to sleep, and would continue the journey to Cottonwood Cove as soon as Juno could move. Mars only knew how long that would be.

Juno's weight would have been easily manageable, but what did him in was the combined weight of her and her guns. She carried her body weight in weaponry, and when he finally felt out of the sniper's scope, it took all of his strength not to drop her off of him roughly. She landed on the ground as he gently let go of her, slumping over the mass of weaponry Vulpes had haphazardly strapped to her body. Just like that, the pressure on his leg ebbed away, and the woman he had carried for at least a quarter mile slept soundly. Her child, however, found no comfort in the darkness of the Mojave. She kept on weeping and crying, looking to him for some sort of comfort but he did not know how to provide it. He had no experience with needy children.

He did what he could for her, let her sit nearby and occasionally patted her on the back to tell her it was okay. She did not seem to believe him, feared harsh punishment from her mother. Vulpes doubted that Juno would punish the girl for reacting like she did and killing the man who would have either killed her or stolen her away. Ariadne held onto her little stuffed fox and wept without tears, the fragile and innocent world her mother had carved for her conveniently shattered by the NCR. In the old world, a girl like Ariadne would have been a precious jewel, but in post-apocalyptia, Ariadne had to learn to be like her mother and learn it fast. Otherwise, she would die. Vulpes knew that much. All of the protective mothers in the world could not shelter an innocent thing like her from the world long enough to keep her alive.

When the sun rose, Juno began to stir. Her movement alerted the child first, and Ariadne immediately went to her mother's side, her cries of despair and fear enough to kick her mother's senses into overdrive, and whatever sedative that remained in her veins was flooded out by adrenaline. Juno sat up with a shot, regarding her daughter and her surroundings first just before enveloping the little girl in a hug, her eyes locking on Vulpes as quickly as she had awakened.

"What happened after I passed out? Did they hurt her?.."

She kept one arm firmly locked around her little girl in a comforting hold while the other cradled her forehead. Juno appeared to be nursing a headache, and he was not surprised. He had caught her before she hit her head, but the drug itself may have been causing her to feel ill. Holding her head was the only sign she betrayed of such feelings.

"No. She killed the last one, and the snipers for Novac threatened our lives if we didn't leave, so I carried you out here," Vulpes explained coolly.

"…Great. Has she been crying the whole time? Is your leg okay?" Juno continued to pat her daughter's back.

"She has been, and my leg is fine." The latter part had been a lie. The wound had been throbbing since he sat down to await her awakening from slumber.

She looked at him with suspicious eyes, but she questioned him no longer. Her attentions were immediately on her daughter. He was a grown man. She could let him take care of himself in that moment.

"It's okay, Ari. You didn't do a bad thing. I know mommy's gotten onto you for touching her guns before but I'm not going to punish you for what you did. You reacted the right way, and when we're somewhere safe, mommy will teach you to use a gun correctly, okay? I think it's about time," Juno kissed her daughter's forehead lovingly, alive with concern and fear of her own.

Vulpes could not understand Juno's method of childrearing; however, he saw that it worked well enough on the child. The woman cradled and caressed her little girl even when she stood up and continued on her way toward Cottonwood Cove without a word to Vulpes, a wobbly, drugged up mess. Still, she kept on going, eager to get away from what she had left behind her and to introduce her daughter to a world the two of them might permanently become a part of. Vulpes hoped for that. Juno would be an asset to the Legion in any way Caesar saw fit to use her.

* * *

><p>Vulpes went ahead of Juno after they arrived at the Fort, seeking audience with Caesar almost as soon as he arrived. Much had to be reported before Caesar spoke to the Courier again, and Vulpes could almost feel the buzz of anticipation in the air as he entered the tent, staring straight toward Caesar.<p>

"You've been gone for weeks. I almost thought Mr. House had won, but then I heard he had been killed. Tell me, Vulpes, what took you two so long to get back?"

Straight to the point. Perhaps that is why Caesar remained in power even at fifty-five years of age.

"I was wounded, and the Courier insisted we not leave the Strip until it properly healed. Even then, we left before the wound had healed completely. She spent days fussing over my wound, and after we reached Novac, she barely paid mind to it, even when we were attacked by three NCR rangers... She is.. a complex woman, Caesar," Vulpes noted.

"As all powerful women are. The Mojave is the birthplace of the strong, but the Strip is the birthplace of the weak."

"She is not from the Mojave."

"A Wanderer too, then? How did you find out that she is not native?" Caesar leaned forward, his interest peaked by this little fact.

"We spoke about her past frequently. She was born to the Mamba Tribe from New Mexico, the very same you conquered almost eight years ago, Caesar."

"It seems that she has confided in you greatly, Vulpes. Sending you with her was the best decision. She is an important asset to our campaign. Watch her, make sure she doesn't change sides, but from now on, do not let her know you are following her. She needs to think she has some kind of freedom," Caesar began, "with the knowledge that she is from that tribe, it is probably best we introduce her to them differently…"

The older man continued to lean forward, his eyes fixated on the floor now as he was deep in thought. Vulpes knew this look. Caesar often looked like that when he was on the verge of some kind of tactical epiphany. What he could be conjuring up, Vulpes might not know for a while. Often times, Caesar would never share his thoughts with him when he got like this. The like in the old man's eyes changed, as if he finally reached his decision, and he looked to one of his guards.

"Go fetch Gaea, and the Courier too. Once they arrive, I want everyone to leave."

* * *

><p>The Fort made Ariadne act like a little bird, overly sensitive to her surroundings and always looking around. Juno could feel the little girl's anxiety pouring out even as she sat with her underneath the comforting shade of a high raised tent where she assumed many Legionaries would eat their dinner. Juno helped herself and her daughter to a helping of what one of the slave girls had prepared for them upon her arrival, and Juno had an easier time keeping her focus on her food than Ariadne did. The child seemed concerned for the women walking around with enormous loads on their backs.<p>

"Mommy, why are those women carrying so much stuff?"

"It's their job, I guess you could say," Juno froze. She did not know how to address this topic.

"If it's their job, do they get paid for it?"

"They are paid with their lives," the mother noted.

"…Are you paid with your life too, momma?" Ariadne looked up from her food, suddenly more concerned.

She seemed to understand more than Juno believed.

"No, sweetie. These people pay me more than that," Juno leaned forward and kissed her little girl on the forehead," Now I want you to listen to me. No one here is going to hurt you. Momma's gonna make sure that they never try to make your job the same as those other women. Momma's gonna make sure that a lot of other women have the same kinda chances we do."

Ariadne looked up at her mother for a moment, as if sizing up the promise. She looked down at her meal and continued to eat, and Juno took this as a sign that Ariadne believed her. Either that, or Ariadne knew her mother would not fail her, should all of those men try to force them into a life that they did not want.

"Courier? Caesar wishes to speak with us- Juno?" an older woman's voice began.

"Hm?"

Juno turned around and found herself faced with a familiar woman, collared and robed in tattered burlap. This woman was Gaea, the prophet slave and her mother. Silence went between both women for a second, and it was Gaea who broke it.

"We can discuss this later, sweetie, but Caesar has some important things to talk to us about together."

"I—who do I leave Ari with? I can't bring her with me, can I?" Juno looked down at her daughter, and then around the area, looking for a suitable watcher for her child.

"Siri over there can watch her. I'll go get her and inform her of her duty," Gaea walked away, sure and silent.

Juno had expected that the Legion had conquered her own tribe, but she never thought that they would all be there, at the Fort, serving directly underneath Caesar and some of his most trusted and skilled Legionaries. As she watched her mother go to fetch a woman to watch over Ariadne, she pondered over why Vulpes did not tell her after all the time she spent talking about home, and then it hit her. He probably knew it would be best not to tell her at all, to keep her from seeing the dirty parts of the Legion. She could not blame him for that, even as she caught sight of him leaving Caesar's tent. He looked straight at her, as if he were tuned into her presence even at that distance. Those eyes watched her as he began walking away until he disappeared around the left side of the tent.

He made her hair stand on end in a _good _ way. She had not been attracted to a man like that in what must have been seven years or so, but she kept a lid on it as best she could. Now was not the time to go chasing after the silly need to feel like a woman again. Juno promised herself that she would watch him for any and all signs of similar feelings, but she would not approach him under any circumstances. She would wait for him to make the first move, and then she would allow herself a night, or maybe even longer, to feel like a woman again. She did not need a man, but she sure would like one.

* * *

><p>"Leave us."<p>

At Caesar's command, the Praetorian guard scattered like leaves in the wind, moving outside of the tent as two women, one free and one a slave, stood before the Emperor in silence. He regarded them both for a moment, and when neither spoke, he began.

"I know you are a knowledgeable woman, Courier. I have no doubt that you know the significance of your name in this world I have created."

"I am aware it comes from the name of a Roman Goddess, but I am not quite aware of what it means to your people. You've taken much from the Roman Civilization, but you have made much on your own. Surely you tweaked the story of Juno," the Courier did her best to sound as if she knew more than she did about everything he might try to bring up, if only to keep a few steps ahead.

"The Goddess Juno serves many of the same purposes, watching over mothers and children but also over the Legion as a whole. As I have made it so, she kills the weak with her own hands and guides them into a life beyond, where the weak are strong, and she raises the Legion was an iron will of a harsh mother. You carry the name, and Gaea has already begun talking about a new aspect of Juno before I even spoke with her about it, and now the slaves are already talking about you being a human incarnation of the goddess."

"Before I even know if I can trust you or not, Courier, my people are assimilating you so quickly that they'll start worshipping the dirt you walk on, leaving homemade bobbles and gifts for you at your tent, should you ever stay overnight at the Fort. I need you to be aware of the gravity of the situation you've fallen into, and how much the Legion _needs_ a woman like you to gives them home."

Gaea looked between Caesar and her daughter," Are you suggesting she start walking about calling herself a goddess, giving into every strange demand you might have of her?"

"No, Gaea, what I'm asking is that Juno accepts the slaves' and maybe even the Legionaries' offerings, should they be mad. It will keep you free, Courier, if they believe you a goddess and every child born from your womb a god in and of themselves. I am offering you what I think you want."

Juno looked at her mother and wondered how much she had known before Juno had even come to the Fort. She wondered if her mother had purposely set this up for her, instilled the people with a vision of a woman, no a goddess, like her. A once tactless, easy going, happy nurse had become a thoughtful, conniving slave. With this in mind, Juno recognized that Caesar was right. This is what she wanted, a way to keep herself and her daughter free of the bondage all of the other women went through. Still, she desired more.

"Alright. I'll do it. I'll do this and anything else you want me to. If you can keep my baby girl from being shackled, then I'll kill the NCR's president with my own bare hands if I fucking have to."

"Vulpes informed me earlier that you were attacked at your temporary residence in Novac by NCR Rangers. I suspect this means that they have already chosen your side for you," Caesar leaned back in his throne, looking at Juno like a hawk. He demanded an answer, and she was willing to give one.

"It would seem so, and if you could do me one small favor…"

"What is it, Courier?"

"It's regarding Vulpes. Please don't let him leave the Fort for another week or two, I think he hurt his leg again when we were attacked in Novac, but he wouldn't say anything to me. I would feel better if he were allowed to rest," Juno's concern poured out of her like water from a spilled cup.

Caesar did not take long to heed her request.

"It will be done. Now about your next task for us…"

* * *

><p><em>Hi everyone! I just thought I'd update quickly since I finally found the will to write this chapter. It took me awhile to get it going, and it feels short and jumpy to me. I've never been the greatest at transitions, but either way, the best is yet to come. In the following chapter, Juno will go to the Ultra-Luxe and reunite with a certain someone. The Boomer quest line will be skipped, as it won't change from what was in the game too much, if at all. <em>


	8. Lust and Hunger

_I actually lied about going straight to the Ultra-Luxe. When I was dancing today, I had a brilliant idea I couldn't resist writing for all of you. I think it's better suited to be BEFORE Juno goes to the Ultra-luxe, so here it is._

* * *

><p>In the three weeks it took Juno to convince the Boomers to take whichever side she did, Caesar had stayed true to his promise and never allowed Vulpes to leave the Fort. The Frumentarius languished in the torment of remaining in the same place for such a length of time; he had not stayed anywhere for so long since the Legion first made camp at Fortification Hill. Ever since, had had always been out on missions for Caesar. Somehow, he knew that Juno had been responsible for this, and part of him thanked her. His leg had long ago quit throbbing if he moved the wrong way, but the torturous wait for her return left him anxious. He wanted out. He wanted to see her.<p>

The miniature version of Juno did little to curb his thoughts away from her mother. Ariadne chased after him incessantly whenever she could get away from Siri, and there were even a few nights that he woke up to find her curled up nearby, hugging onto Chesire for dear life. The girl had grown so attached to him that Vulpes could hardly shake her, nor could he resist checking on her when she was in the wretched claws of whatever slave had the duty of taking care of her for the day. Ariadne had grown on him, just like her mother.

Juno's relationship with him remained tentative and uncertain. Ever since she had left, Vulpes found himself thinking about her. Not every thought about her could be considered pure, his nights spent alone with nothing but the image of her naked body when she had killed Benny. He imagined her straddling him, not the man that had shot her, and the noises of her carnal desire rang so true in his ears that he could often swear that she was right next to him. This did nothing to lessen the torturous heat of the Fort, and Vulpes awaited the Courier with all of these things in mind.

When she returned to the Fort, night had fallen over the Mojave and her presence largely went unnoticed by everyone who was not present in Caesar's tent when she stopped by. Before she even spoke to Caesar, Juno looked at Vulpes and sized him up, as if judging his recovery… or perhaps something else. The thought made Vulpes shiver and the look in Juno's eyes betrayed to him that she noticed. A smirk spread across her lips, as if she could sense all of the tension in his muscles at her very presence and gaze. He did not like being this way over anyone. The kind of power she had over him had probably moved many men to make terrible decisions on her behalf, and Vulpes did not want to continue the cycle as much as his body told him to accept any opportunity of getting close. He had to deny her, no matter how often he dreamed of her in bed with him.

"The Boomers are on our side. They'll begin bombing the NCR when we send the signal just before the battle. They'll be ready when we are."

_We. _Whatever Caesar had spoken to her about all of those weeks ago had caused her to include herself in the Legion. He felt the swell of victory in his chest, the very same kind that obvious effected Caesar as he spoke.

"Good. Now there's something else I need you to do… The White Glove Society is-"

And then it happened. For the first time, in a few months, Caesar folded over and held his head in obvious and crippling pain. Juno leapt to action and came in so quickly that some of the guards twitched where they stood, ready to end her if she so much as took another step.

"Are you okay? Is your head….?"

"Gah.. Fuck… Forget it. You know what to do about the Society.. I'm going to bed. Fuck this."

Juno seemed taken aback with Caesar stood up abruptly, knocking her onto her backside as he pushed her away. She yelped a little as she came in contact with the ground, but she showed no signs of anger. She watched him go, and with a sigh, looked to Vulpes.

"Something's wrong with him. How long has this been happening?"

"….I cannot say."

"I figured as much," she huffed in displeasure, standing as she continued," Looks like I'm off for more emissary duty in the morning. Have you kept tabs on Ari by chance?"

"I have.. checked in on her from time to time. This is a dangerous place for a girl like her," Vulpes said.

Juno made a sound in the back of her throat more like acknowledgment than displeasure. She seemed to agree.

"But don't worry, when last I checked on her, she had wrestled a young boy in training to the ground for making fun of her hair. She's more like you than you might have thought."

"Implying that I have wrestled men to the ground of making fun of my hair," Juno laughed," but no, really, I get what you mean. I think that I've been sheltering her too much. Having her stay here, instead of with the Kings, will give her more experience with the world. There's so much more here, inside of these walls, than there is in Freeside. I want her to see those boys training. I want her to pick up on it like I did as a little girl, and I want her to know that not everyone is pure. What better place to teach her that than the Legion's Fort."

Juno stepped outside, and Vulpes followed. He had a duty to Caesar to continue milking her for information whenever he could, but the need to be near her lingered deep in his gut. Again, he reminded himself that he did not like this, or at least, tried to reassure himself that he did not like how she made him feel.

"She has good teachers. The slaves have been watchful of her and giving her presents…. They think this is a child-goddess."

"That's because they believe I am a goddess, Vulpes," she said it so matter-o-factly, as if she almost believed it.

For a second, he believed it too.

"As good a reason as any to give a child gifts, I suppose…Some of the women from your old tribe gave her a set of dance clothes native to your home. She has worn them every time I've seen her."

"Really?" Juno became alive with pleasure and thought, and the look in her eyes under the moonlight betrayed happiness," I'll have to teach her then! I haven't danced in a long time, and what better way to get back into it that to teach her."

"Isn't she a little young for that kind of dance?" Vulpes questioned.

"God no," Juno laughed, continuing toward where she would be staying for the night," Belly dance isn't just about the sensuality and the physical appeal. It's about grounding oneself to the earth and growing out into other states of consciousness, moving like the trees and the snakes and everything around you. I won't teach her much, since she isn't going to be capable of a lot of it yet, but I want her to learn her heritage, what it means to be a Mamba woman."

Juno clearly took great pride in everything she had grown up with. Vulpes found it admirable. She spoke about dance like many Legionaries spoke about battle. As they walked, the sound of the drums carried out into the night, a clear sign that the slaves were dancing. Upon hearing it, Juno turned toward the sound and she smiled with reminiscence clear in her face.

"I think I'm going to get changed and join them tonight. I can handle staying up a little late before I leave in the morning," She looked straight at him for a moment, a request clearly trying to come out of her mouth, "Maybe I'll see you tonight."

* * *

><p>On the nights that the slaves got together and danced, most of the Legionaries took the liberty of changing out of their armor, and Vulpes was not one to miss the opportunity this time. Like most of those that sat or stood near the fire and the dancing slave women, he wore a simple pair of pants and a tight shirt. Usually, he slept in them, but on a night like this one, he could not be sure if he would be going to bed clothed or not. The way Juno had looked at him when she walked away left him anxious and alert, waiting for her to show up and jump into the ring of dancing women as she gathered up the admiration and respect of every man and woman already gathered there.<p>

When she arrived, Vulpes could not help but stare at her. The crimson outfit he had seen her wear before took on a different attitude when she adorned herself in all of the bobbles and jewelry that went with it. She wore a silver coin belt over the initial skirt, and it glittered in the firelight like a keen reminder of what she had grown up as. Her hair hid in the very same crimson cloth that had hid her face from the sun on their trek to Cottonwood Cove, and her forearms disappeared underneath fingerless leather gloves, which were in turn almost lost underneath silver bangles in the shape of snakes. The woman awed at her and sang their praises of Juno Lucina. The men joined Vulpes in a stare of admiration, and she carried in her arms a small box, much like a radio.

"I brought something for you, everyone! Here. Let me get it working," She sat it a ways away from the fire, and she pressed a few buttons.

Music poured out of its speakers, sounding off like a loud radio, but what came out of it was not the music of the Mojave. What came from those speakers was the music of the Mamba Tribe, and the resounding cheers brought praise to the Goddess in a way Vulpes had never heard before. Even the men were glad for this.

The slaves began to dance to the rhythms that infected their blood and moved their bodies, and without prompting, Juno joined in. She stood out like a diamond among rocks of coal, more brilliant and striking than any of the worn down women who found strength in these weekly celebrations of life. Vulpes watched the goddess closely, witnessed every hip drop in perfect timing with the drums that carried the beat. He watched her belly roll like the waves of the nearby lake, her arms move like a deceptive snake. Never once did her eyes leave him, he noticed. Even when she twirled, she would look over her shoulder at him, beckoning and teasing. It may have been years since she danced like that, but it was in her muscle memory. She still performed as if not a day had passed since she learned to move like a snake with the grace of a goddess.

If there had been any doubt in his mind that Juno was divine, it had been erased in the minutes and hours he spent gathered around the fire and watching her with such intensity that he had to keep himself from reaching out and grabbing her. He had more control than some of the men who had done just that to some of the slave women, carrying them off into the night to have their way with them. Vulpes refused to be such an animal. He had made a promise to himself not to act like that anymore, not to stoop to such profligate behaviors. He would not subjugate a goddess to such treatment.

After remaining in the dance circle for as long as she could, Juno left it with a loud laugh and a happy sigh, sitting down next to Vulpes and stealing whatever drink he had with him (he had forgotten at that point). Her smile was intoxicating and inviting, the sensual power in her eyes undoubtedly brought up by all of her time spent dancing. He had never seen her so dressed up, her own natural, intoxicating nature amplified by the culture she had grown up in.

"God, I really missed this!" She exclaimed, a laugh rolling off of her tongue as she continued to look at him.

"You seemed very happy out there."

"I was! We used to do this all the time at home. We would celebrate our good fortunes and share our skills with each other. Sometimes the men would drag women off a lot like your Legionaries do. Not much has changed."

"..Were you ever carried off?" Vulpes wondered if he would have been the first, had he given in to the urge.

"Oh god no. Most of the men were too scared they would incur the wrath of my father. He might have been a trader, but he was one of the men most skilled in combat. Probably the only reason he'd come home after every expedition, now that I think about it."

Juno took a drink of his beverage again and sat it down on the ground between them.

"You know.. I saw you looking at me a lot," she smirked.

Trying to trick him into doing something he would regret, no doubt. She must have made herself the same promises he did, but she was not above trying to lure him in just enough that he would give her a sign.

"As you were looking at me, Courier."

"Dammit, Vulpes. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Juno? I don't think you've ever called me by name.."

She always got irritated by this. Even as these moments convinced him of her divinity, he still could not call her by her most sacred name. It did not feel right to him, and it probably would not feel right until… No. He refused to think of it.

"It doesn't feel right."

She quirked a brow at him, and then sat next to him in silence. Juno spoke not a word to him, watching the other girls as they danced, taking in the sights of some of them being carried away, laughing it off. Vulpes wondered if she wanted this to happen to her. He pondered over just how long it had been since she was truly intimate with a man. He would hardly count what happened between her and Benny intimacy, considering it had only been her way to kill him. He assumed she felt the same way by the longing look in her eye. Everything about her was calling out for him, and he refused it until he could stand to do so no more.

"Well, I'm going to bed," she stated plainly.

Juno stood up and walked around him, purposely giving her hip that little shift to one side he had seen her use when she led Benny along. At the time, he had told himself he was a stronger man than to let that sway him. Vulpes stood and followed her, very aware that there would be ramifications to his actions that night.

* * *

><p>Juno had not been so tired, so happy, and yet so dissatisfied at the same time since the first time she danced in a big group of women for a bunch of testosterone fueled men. As much as her signals to Vulpes clearly connected and were returned in the most covert ways possible, he would not give into her obvious invitations. She had seen enough that night to know that the two of them were attracted to each other on a level that she had not experienced since Vigo. She did not want to think about it like that, but it remained true. Vulpes made her wet with desire and haunted her most personal dreams. Sometimes she liked it. Other times, she did not. That night would be a time when it would disgust her. She hated going to bed dissatisfied.<p>

The Fort remained alive even as the moon hung so high overhead she had to strain her neck to look up at it. The intense moans of pleasure and sexuality poured out of the tents and all at once made her jealous and angry. Hopefully Ari was somewhere she did not have to hear them. Juno knew her to be staying with the other children, but she did not know exactly where that was. Far enough away from the Legionaries she hoped that the carnal sounds of lusty nights playing out did not reach the ears of the innocent.

None was outside of the tents as she walked toward her own. Almost all of the men and women had either gone to bed with each other or remained at the fire, dancing to Juno's gift of recorded music. She stopped in her tracks with a heavy sigh, looking up at the moon that seemed to taunt her.

"Fuck you." She said to herself, speaking to an unnamed entity.

It was then that she felt a calloused hand grab her arm and yank her through a row of tents, almost throwing her against the painted metal walls that fortified the hill. Her face pressed against it, and even through her peripheral vision, she could not see the person that had so forcefully grabbed her.

A warm body pressed up against her back, hard desire pressing into the small of her back. Part of her did not care who it was that so openly took her invitation, but her deepest desires prayed that Vulpes Inculta had finally given in to all of her signals.

"Clearly, we cannot go about ignoring this anymore," a velvet-like, familiar voice cooed into her ear, accompanied by a hot breath that steamed down her neck.

She could not help but smile so wide that she had no doubts he saw her, " No. I don't think we can."

He let go of her arm and all at once spun her to face him at the hips, his rough hands holding on as tightly as they could. His thumb and forefinger rubbed against the gentle, exposed skin of her belly while the rest of his fingers tangled themselves in the chain belt she wore. Their gazes connected, and his eyes exposed the same carnal desires that his manhood did, pressing at her belly through his pants. She had not been in such a position in a very long time, and she missed it. In the simplicity of his lusty stare, she felt like a woman again.

Juno stepped up onto her tip toes to reach his lips, issuing him a first, gentle kiss. He took advantage of it and pressed her tight against the wall, kissing her with the same hunger his eyes had betrayed to her. He used his firm hold on her hips to lift her off the ground, and on instinct she wrapped her legs around him. To give herself extra support, she wound her arms around his neck and let her fingers weave into his short hair, savoring the scent of a real man. Vulpes did not smell like cologne and wine and dust. He smelled like blood, sweat, and leather. Something about the combination turned her on in a much different way than the scent she remembered to belong to Vigo.

_Damn. What is it about these men whose names start with V?_

Their passionate kisses and embrace went on for what felt like hours, lengthy minutes of desire playing so vividly that Juno tried to memorize every detail. She loved the feeling of his hands exploring her flesh, even when they found the otherwise embarrassing stretch marks Ariadne's birth had left on her. These marks did not deter him as his fingers traced a pair up her sides, following their initial trail all the way to the edge of her top, working underneath the fabric. Juno longed for nothing more for him to disrobe her and fuck her right there, but she knew he had the same worry in the back of his head.

_Someone would see them. Someone would see them, rat them out to Caesar, and whatever semblance of a romance they might have would be ruined. Vulpes would be reassigned, purposely sent away when Juno would be expected._

Neither of them wanted that. Deep down, even when she began to feel that Vulpes too saw her as a divinity, she knew that they both were aware that this part of her, this unbridled, passionate and intimate side, would have to be bridled by whoever would take Caesar's place when he grew too old or passed away.

Their lips parted, and all at once they whispered," No one can know."

Vulpes blinked and gazed up at her, silently sizing up their shared moment of realization and passion. They remained there in silence, listening all around them for movement. When satisfied no one was nearby, Vulpes and Juno began to kiss and explore each other again, equally hungry for some kind of incredible intimacy.

Their hips bucked against each other in the deep lust they both had for the other. She could hear him grunting in the back of his throat, holding each sound down and silencing them as best he could. She could barely keep in her little mewls that often threatened to escape her lips, crushed into silence by Vulpes' hungry lips and tongue. She found some form of pleasure in his hard desire, pressing and rubbing against her most intimate places. She wanted nothing more than their clothes to simply disappear.

She wanted him to fuck her. Juno wanted him to carry her off somewhere that they would never be discovered and spread her out on the ground, laying into her so hard and so fast that she would not be able to get up for days. Just once, she wanted to give in to those carnal desires, the itch she had left unscratched for so long that it began to burn. No man but Vulpes Inculta could cure it. She knew that much now, and all his kisses, nibbles, and touches did was make the itch, no the burn, even more intense. She needed him.

He needed her too. Each touch left a burning reminder of the heat on his hands, his own lust for her burning so hot in his veins that his entire body was practically aflame. He kissed her with such passion that she could not place a name on it. His desire for her was as primal and carnal as it was a form of worship. Even when he held himself back, used all of his mental strength to keep from tearing her clothes to shred and taking her right there, he let her know that he wanted her. That alone made her appreciate the moment. She could not remember a time where a man wanted her like this, and it made her light up inside. Love would be nice, but the Legion was no place for fairy tale knights in shining armor. It was a place for men at their most animalistic, and Vulpes was showing her the most animalistic instincts a man had toward a woman. She needed that.

"Juno?.."

_Fuck._

She had never seen a man move so fast as Vulpes did as her mother's voice rang out over the tents. He dropped her legs and moved away like lightning, disappearing into the sea of tents and leaving her alone. She looked after him with longing, knew him to be looking back at her from where ever he had gone, but my god did she want to say good bye to him. It did not feel right for him to just leave like that.

"Juno? Oh, there you are! Did you get lost on your way to the tent we set up for you?" Gaea smiled at her, warm and thoughtful as all mothers were.

"Uhh, yes. I thought it was somewhere out this way, but I might have been wrong."

Juno walked with her mother, barely hearing her chatter on about whatever it was that she was talking about as she kept her eyes peeled for Vulpes sneaking around through all of the tents. It took a few rows before he stepped out into the center pass, watching her walk off. She looked over her shoulder at him, hoping that he would follow after her and join her in bed that night, but she knew he would not. As it turned out, Ariadne waited for her. The little girl had never been so happy, and Juno had never been so disappointed in the sight of her daughter in her life. That thought brought her shame, and she wondered just what the Legion was turning her into.

Two months ago, she would never have thought her daughter a nuisance and a bother. Now, she would want nothing more than Ariadne to be somewhere else for a night. Juno wanted a man in her bedroll with her, not her beautiful baby girl that had always been there for her. She wanted Vulpes to do unspeakable, terrible things to her all night. Maybe, just maybe, she would like him to do those things to her every night, to hold her when she went to sleep. Was that too much to ask?

God, did she just want the simplicity of being a woman with a man again. Just for a week or two, she would kill almost anyone for that luxury.

* * *

><p><em>Another VERY quick update is here for you and with a very hot ending if I do say so myself. I'm really proud of myself for writing such a lengthy chapter so quickly, but the truth is that this was an idea I had been playing with, and it came to fruition on one of my few days off from work. I had a lot of free time and a lot of early inspiration, so without further ado, I bid you leave any thoughts you've had about this and previous chapters. Its always helpful to know what people like and don't like!<em>


	9. Disposable Dreams

You're an ocean of a girl  
>Surrounding a world<br>With a blackening tide  
>You know that the coming storm<br>Is gonna be a crazy ride

With your altars made of bones  
>The aftermath<br>Of disposable wings  
>You know that you were born<br>For more than what machines provide  
>Machines provide<p>

Rising Tide By Beats Antique (Featuring Lynx)

_This chapter is heavily inspired by the above quoted song. It really is fantastic, and would set the tone if you were looking for something to listen to as you read. In fact, I think that this song has easily become the theme for this story, as I have changed the name of the story to match the above quoted song. I think it sets the mood I'm trying to convey, especially from this point forward._

_Another good song would be True Romance by She Wants Revenge. Although, that would be better for the end. _

_This is a much, much longer chapter, and is the turning point in the story. Dark times ahead._

* * *

><p>It was twilight when Juno reached the road to Novac. She had lay in her tent for hours trying to wrap her head around what happened with Vulpes, and something in her gut told her it was wrong. God, did she enjoy it, but everything was starting to feel wrong. Being left alone with her thoughts for the whole walk to New Vegas, she had plenty of time to comb through what she wanted and what she did not want.<p>

She wanted her daughter to be _safe. _Enslavement was not an option, and Caesar had already agreed that this would not happen to them in exchange for Juno's aid. Could she trust his word? Could she trust anyone? She had never been much for politics, but she played the game now. She had to learn what to do, who to trust, and how to act around these people. She had been too free with herself, too giving and trusting. Her safety in the Legion fell deeper into question as she puzzled over the position Caesar had put her in.

He placed her on the pedestal of a Goddess, an eternal fixture of the Legion. While it gave her power, it also gave her chains. There were expectations of a human embodiment of a god. She knew that because of how they treated Caesar, who was looked at as the son of Mars. They expected nothing less than perfection, never questioned him. They would question her because she was a woman. They would demand nothing more than absolute loyalty and success. A female without a collar could be nothing less. If she failed, she and her daughter would undoubtedly be shackled and sold to the highest bidder. Someone would take her, and she could not guarantee it would be Vulpes. Then again, would she want that? She liked how he looked at her, how he felt pressed up against her, but what kind of master would he be? Tyrannical and overbearing, she assumed. Something about him screamed such moods about property. She would not be his property, no matter how drawn to him she was.

Novac's Dinosaur loomed over the horizon, and from it, Juno could see one of the snipers looking down the sights of his rifle at her. She knew it to be Boone. He was the only one who took the night shifts, and he had promised to shoot her the next time she came through Novac. Juno tested his words and continued to walk forward. A small part of her wanted him to pull the trigger, maybe to spare her from the thoughts that rolled around in her head and tormented her consciousness.

As she walked closer and closer to the dinosaur, she thought about turning around and getting her daughter back, and then she would take her as far away as she could and run away from the Mojave. But how far could she run? She could not go west, for the NCR would capture her, interrogate her, and probably take her daughter away from her. If she went east, she would be running straight through Legion territory, and they too would inevitably catch up to her. Running was not an option. She had to find another way, determine the path she wanted to take, but for now… She would do as Caesar commanded. After all, it offered her the opportunity to pull the trigger on Vigo and send him where he belonged. That calmed the tumultuous storm inside of her, shushing all of her thoughts.

"Juno."

She blinked and stopped just at the feet of the dinosaur, looking straight up at Boone. He held his rifle to his body, the barrel pointed up at the sky rather than at her. It seemed he would not be shooting her tonight, or at least not yet. Even from the distance he was at, Juno could feel urgency. She decided to pretend as if she did not know of his threat, and she returned his address.

"Yes, Boone? Weren't you going to be leaving Novac last time we talked?"

"Yes, but I was hoping you would come by. We need to talk. Come up here," Boone demanded.

She sighed, but she obeyed and walked around the gate. She would indulge him, and maybe she would listen to what he had to say.

When she came through the door, Boone turned to face her. Their eyes met for the briefest moment, and Juno could see the seriousness in his eyes. Boone always looked serious, but something about his gaze oozed with urgency and importance, like he had been doing a lot of thinking and needed to voice it to her.

"What you're doing is wrong. You know that, don't you?"

"Working for the Legion? I don't have any other choice. I've pissed off the NCR enough they sent rangers to kill me. Last time I checked, the NCR doesn't talk to terrorists." She sighed, wondering if this was all he really had to say.

"When you helped me find out who sold Carla, I thought that you would have seen what the Legion was capable of, what kind of terrible shit they do. Now you're off doing what they want you to, leaving your kid with them. What is this really about? Why are you doing this?"

Juno looked at him and could not help but blankly stare. She did not have answers to his questions. She just did it. She did what they asked her to because someone had come up to her, witnessed her as she achieved her revenge, and commended her for it. She went to them because this world of men had intrigued her. Maybe that was why.. Maybe she went to them because she had no reason to be intrigued with the NCR, and she liked the mystery of the Legion and its Frumentarius, Vulpes Inculta.

"I… I don't know."

"They're playing you, Juno. Whatever promises they made to you aren't going to mean shit when you're done doing what they want you to do. You're going to wind up like Carla, shackled and enslaved and…"

"Dead." Juno finished. She knew it was painful for him, but she would be damned if the thought did not go through.

She did not want that for herself or her child. She would never let that happen, but she felt like too little too late had gone through her thick skull. Juno could not back out now.

"Look, I owe you. I'm going to stick around Novac a little longer, and if you need anything… You know where to find me."

"That's uncharacteristic of you, Boone. Why would you want to help me?"

"Because I don't want you to wind up like my wife."

Juno blinked at this rare display of emotion from the sniper. He looked at her, and she could see him reliving all of the both good and very terrible memories of his wife. She often saw that look in the eyes of men and women who had seen better days, people who wound up in the Followers of The Apocalypse's care after a good run of luck and a sudden bout with addiction. She reached out and patted him on the shoulder, a gesture he seemed to ignore. She knew how it felt, in a way. She had lost Vigo, and the memories of him would often play through her mind like a broken record. She missed the simple days. Boone seemed to as well.

"Thank you, Boone. That's a nice thought… But I can take care of myself a little bit better than she did, I'm sure. Look, if something goes wrong.. Like, totally and absolutely wrong that I can't stand it, I'll come back. I really appreciate your offer, and your concern. Its refreshing."

"I thought I would offer you the same courtesy you showed me."

That too, was refreshing.

* * *

><p>Red had always been her color. Specifically, crimson.<p>

Juno had the luxury of owning a crimson silk dress, one she had foolishly spent all of her caps on several years ago. It still fit her, which she was thankful for as she wiggled into it in her Lucky 38 suite. She had plans for her time at the Ultra-Luxe, aside from doing exactly what Caesar wanted. Sure, she would get the White Glove Society to take the side of the Legion, but she would be damned if she did not leave without sending someone to hell.

She had combed out and styled her hair into long waves, wore gloves that went all the way to the middle of her bicep, carried a small clutch purse, and stood on heels that would put her at an average height. She felt beautiful, like she could turn the head of any man who saw her. With a spray of perfume and a small hand gun tucked into her little clutch, Juno stepped into the elevator, prepared to face the White Glove Society and anyone who would get in her way from spilling the blood of the man that had truly wronged her most.

Boone's words still plagued her, fading in and out of her other thoughts as she prepared herself for the masquerade at the White Glove Society's little fortress in New Vegas. She tried to focus on the now, but with his words of warning and offers of aid, she found it difficult.

Ever since she had been shot in the head, Juno found she had a bit of a mean streak. Sure, she had a few moments of genuine goodness, like when she found out who sold Boone's wife, helped out the people of Goodsprings, but she had some tarnishes too. She had killed Benny in his own bed, sabotaged the rockets that Jason Bright and his followers had planned to ride to the Great Beyond… and joined the Legion. Deep down, she knew what she was doing was wrong, but she would be a liar to say that it was not what she wanted. They would keep Ariadne safe. That's how she justified it, but really, she just wanted the adventure, the thrill of doing something so wrong that people would judge her for eternity for it. Maybe she did it to get Vulpes' attention. Maybe she just wanted a man to pay attention to her again.

Juno had always been a wild thing. Even as a child, she did all of the wrong things to see what would happen. She set things on fire, shot guns off when only the boys were allowed to handle weapons, played with the snakes and ran off outside of the city alone. As an adult, she admittedly slept around, drank from time to time and had a damn good time doing it, even killed a man because it felt good. The first man she ever killed had grabbed her ass at a bar. Ever since then, she got a little bit of pleasure with every pull of the trigger. Someone like her should not be a mother, but she was. She had her Ariadne, and Juno would occasionally reel in her wild side to take care of her daughter. She had not let loose in what felt like years, and the Legion offered her all of those chances.

Vulpes offered her all of those chances. What they had between each other was nothing like the tame, thoughtful chemistry she had with Vigo. With Vulpes, it was animalistic and hungry and desperate. She had not slept a wink after that night, finding sleep only when she arrived at the Lucky 38. The impenetrable walls of her little home away from home locked out the feeling of his hands all over her. Still, all she could think about was him, taking her right against that wall. Her mind still flew off into the very same thoughts, and she occupied herself all through her walk to Vegas with just such thoughts.

The Ultra-Luxe welcomed her like always. A brief check in and an attempt to take her weapons, but Juno's silver tongue convinced the doorman she had no weapons on her person. Why would she? Such a woman, dressed to the nines in a gown of such design rarely seen in New Vegas would hardly be the type to be armed. The doorman had not recognized her, and he simply thought her to be another gambler.

Nothing had changed. Everyone wore the telltale tuxedos seen only on men in the White Glove Society. The women wore the same one shoulder dresses, and even wore their hair the same way. Juno could feel all of the memories she had in that place rushing to the surface, bubbling in her blood and calling up the white hot vengeance she longed to taste again.

She made her way quickly to the front desk, bypassing the bar and the chip desk. Mortimer would recognize her. She knew that, and it appeared that he did even as she opened the doors. The normally quiet spoken and conniving man threw his arms up into the air in greeting.

"Juno! What a wonderful surprise!"

"Hello, Mortimer!" She faked excitement," It's so nice to see you. I thought I would drop by and ask you about something.."

"What is that, dear girl?"

She came closer to the desk and leaned forward, all business now as she spoke again.

"The Legion is looking to bring you over to their side…. I'll do whatever you want me to in exchange for your allegiance.. and a dirt free pass to a bullet in Vigo's head."

She had purposely been blunt with him. Mortimer was all business, and he often liked to get straight to the point. Besides that, he had always been the more dark and willing of the two proprietors of the Ultra-Luxe. He gave her a deeply calculative look, and then spoke again.

"You know that I've been trying to reintroduce our traditional form of cuisine for years. Help me do this, and I doubt there shall be any trouble convincing my peers to join the Legion. For Vigo's head, however… I cannot think of a price."

"He's a worthless, money grubbing, conniving little prick who's been nothing but trouble to you and to myself, I'm sure. When was the last time he did anything good for your family?" Juno worked at every angle she could. Vigo had to die.

"Hmmm… I suppose you're right there," Mortimer reached underneath the desk and produced a key," Here, my dear. This is the key to his room, 413. There usually isn't anyone up there, so if things get messy, you should be alright. Throw his body down the laundry shoot in the bathroom, and it will be taken care of."

"You're a good man, Mortimer," Juno soothed his ego," When this is done, I'll come talk to you again about that other thing."

She took the key from him, and without another word approached the nearby elevator. She repeated the room number to herself over and over again as she waited to reach the fourth floor of the Ultra-Luxe. Adrenaline fueled her urge to rain vengeance down upon the man who had left her alone to raise a child, and it was in moments like these that she wondered what the bullet had done to her.

Juno exited the elevator and once more felt the keen edge of focus and determination rising up inside of her as the adrenaline sent her into overdrive. She could hear the clicking of her heels so clearly that she swore not another noise was made. The silence of the hallway toward room 413 reminded her of every silent and broken promise she had made herself about the man who had wronged her. She could already taste the sweet dish of revenge upon her tongue, cold and stained red. She would destroy him utterly.

She found the room to be on her left as she reached the end of the hallway, not a sound coming from behind the door. Juno reached into her clutch for her small gun and followed up by unlocking the door and clicking the safety on the gun off. Slowly, she swung the door open. The bed Vigo had slept in was carefully arranged, and from the bathroom, she finally heard sounds of life. Running water. A shower.

Juno smirked to herself. She could not wait to pull the trigger on him at his most vulnerable. She used her agile fingers to twist the knob of the bathroom door silently, pushing the door open so slowly that not a noise was made, and the man she intended to kill made no notice of the pressure change in the room. Through the shower curtain, she could see him washing his hair as he hummed a tune to himself, blissfully ignorant of the fate that walked into the bathroom, heels clicking so gently upon the tile floor that they barely alerted him.

"Hello?" Vigo's smooth voice called out.

"Hello, Vigo, " Juno responded, slamming the bathroom door shut.

Her target seemed instantly aware of what was going to happen to him and he ducked down into the shower, hoping to avoid what he thought would be a bullet. No. Juno would not shoot him yet. She liked to play with her prey. She came forward and pulled the curtain open, looking down at the naked form of the man she once thought she loved.

Vigo had not changed much. His brown hair was still long, tamed as always. The water had provided the taming agent this time, but he usually gelled it back with an unknown substance. He had a strong, masculine jawline, and even when he looked up at her, she could still seem him formulating a way out of this. She would not let him sweet talk her. Juno had grown out of that stage of her life.

"J-Juno. My god.. You, you're alive."

"Damn right I'm alive, you fucking prick. Did you think I'd die out there, carrying your child?" She glared down at him, staring right down the sights of her handgun.

He began to stand now, knowing that he had nowhere to go. He held both hands up in front of him in a sign of surrender, as if trying to show her he would not try anything. Juno knew better than to think he would really do that. She would ruin him.

"I thought… To be honest, I don't really know what I thought, lovely."

"She's beautiful, you know. Our baby. She looks just like me. Acts a bit like I did when I was a kid. God help us all if she turns out like me," She stepped a little closer, moving her finger to the trigger.

"Wait, please! Juno, don't kill me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me when I left. I was going to go back for you, but I didn't know where you went. I heard you left and I did not know where to look for you. Just please, please don't kill me."

"Why? Why should I show you any kind of mercy, you stupid fuck? You left me alone, pregnant and capless. I couldn't afford to pay an escort back to Freeside. I had to do the whole damn walk by myself, in the heat, dehydrating and risking the life of my baby. I would have been worse off if I stayed in Primm, and you… You just wanted your comfortable life on the strip back, and don't lie to me! I didn't matter to you; I know that you never loved me!"

Her hands shook as she brought up her left arm to try and steady the gun as she pointed it at him. It had been easier to kill Benny, to take the revenge that was meant to be hers. As much as she hated Vigo, there was still a part of her that harbored their memories close. Even when she knew now that to him it had all been a game, she liked having those blissful memories. She missed being treated like a treasure, even if it was pretend.

"You look so beautiful, Juno.. I'm sure you'd hate to get blood on that dress of yours.." Vigo reached out, sensing her wavering strength, and he tried to take the gun from her.

The battle for supremacy began.

* * *

><p><em>413.<em>

Vulpes was thankful that Juno had been so distracted that he could follow her so closely as to hear her conversation with the Ultra-Luxe' proprietor so clearly that he knew her exact intentions. Honestly, he was a little surprised that she had sought out this course of action so bluntly, but after she had killed Benny, he could only imagine how sweet revenge tasted to her. Vigo had in many ways caused her grievous injury, injuries that could not be seen on Juno's surface. Only when she was disrobed and vulnerable, spilling her silly woman's babble about how she had been wronged, showing all of the marks of her pregnancy, could Vulpes see how that man had affected her.

Regardless, she looked beautiful in the red dress she used to disguise herself. He had never seen her take such great pains to beautify herself like other profligate women, but he found that Juno looked more elegant and splendorous than any of the other women could ever hope. She had combed out her lovely hair, allowed it to rain freely over her shoulders. Her lips were painted red, a light purple smoke dressed over her eyelids to draw attention to her green eyes. She knew how to blend into the world of the Strip better than Vulpes had been lead to believe.

As Vulpes approached the door, he wondered how Juno intended to exact her revenge. His stomach knotted and twisted as he thought of her using the same tactics on Vigo as she had with Benny. The thought made him angry, raising his possessive nature to the surface in a painfully poignant way. He imagined her kissing Vigo, the dirty profligate's hands all over the sacred body of a goddess, and Vulpes decided he hated any man who would even try to touch her. She belonged to the Legion now, collar or no, and he wanted her to belong to him.

The sounds that came from behind the door were not carnal desires. No, what Vulpes heard through the grainy wood was the sound of struggle, a hand to hand fight between man and woman, some kind of weapon clanking along on the ground between them. The Frumentarius entered slowly, careful not to alert the man to his arrival. Vulpes found no struggle in the main room of the suite, spacious if not for the large trolley cart filled with finished room service and unopened bottles of liquor taking up the space in the center of the room.

The Fox turned to his left and looked into the bathroom. A naked man, who he presumed to be Vigo, had somehow managed to pin Juno against the wall, holding a 9mm pistol in his right hand, just out of the woman's reach. The goddess tried and tried to get it from him, but he kept on holding her down.

"Is this how you get close to men again, Juno? Bringing guns to their bedrooms?.."

"No, actually," she began," this is how I kill men who've done me wrong."

"How are you going to do that-"

Vulpes took from her the opportunity to exact her revenge. He would not allow this profligate to touch her anymore, and even thought Caesar had specifically ordered him not to be seen by her or to be involved at all, launched a small throwing knife at the profligate in question. He fell silent, lingered in his place in front of Juno for just a moment before falling to his knees and onto his back, pushing the knife deeper as he collided with the ground.

Juno looked up at Vulpes, breathless and eyes wide in shock and fear. Somehow she had lost a battle she fully intended to win, and it appeared to be the only thing that frightened her. The same distractions that had swayed her from noticing him all the way from Cottonwood Cove and into that very room must have caused the lost. It served only to put her in further disarray, and she slid down onto her backside, staring down at Vigo's body.

"Thank you."

Vulpes nodded but spoke not a word as Juno gathered herself up. It only took her a few minutes to grab onto Vigo's body and drag him toward what appeared to be a laundry shoot. The man groaned, apparently not dead yet. He would be once he reached the bottom, but Vulpes would not move to help Juno. She would likely protest, and as she pushed the gravely injured man into the shoot, she spoke again.

"Fuck you. I hope they cook you alive, you ass hole."

She let go of him and closed the lid, and together, Vulpes and Juno listened to Vigo's last screaming attempt at mercy. Neither would heed him, and the goddess stood up, still the perfect picture of a woman distracted and unsure.

"Is something wrong, Courier?..."

He never called her by her name, and sometimes it really bothered her. She was not really a Courier anymore, so why call her that? He had told her before that it did not feel right to call her by her name, but was it so hard? She looked at herself in the mirror as she puzzled over all of these things, her hair disheveled from the struggle, make up smeared from all of her attempts to combat Vigo. She felt almost ruined, wishing that she had been the one to kill him. Still, he was dead, and that was what mattered in the moment.

"Not really, but I can't help but wonder why you're here."

"It's my job," Vulpes answered simply.

Juno turned around to face him, blinking as she took in the sight of him. He seemed like a different man when he was not wearing his Legion Crimsons, but the intensity of his eyes always remained the same. They spoke volumes about him, a sign of his experiences and attitudes about many things. Right now, his eyes showed her that he could not stop looking at her. This was enough to make her smile and shake off what little negative feelings she had started to feel after dropping Vigo down the laundry shoot. She approached him and stopped just a foot or so away from him. Juno stood up on her tip toes and snatched Vulpes' hat clean off of his head, playfully tossing it into the bedroom part of the room. A wide grin spread across her face.

Vulpes closed the distance and grabbed onto her with one arm around her waist and his right hand cradling her head. Their lips came together and a very familiar scene unfolded between them. All the while, Vulpes questioned himself. Why did he so bluntly break Caesar's orders? Was the attraction he had to this woman so deeply seated that even his loyalty to Caesar fell under fire? Each kiss and light, desperate touch alerted him to a staggering fact. He wanted her. He did not want her once. He wanted her over and over again, every night that he could have her. He wanted to possess her, and if the opportunity would arise, he would strike for it.

The silk fabric of her dress underneath his fingers felt heavenly, contrasted only by the natural, velvet like texture of Juno's skin. She had long ago embraced him, sneaking her arms into his suit jacket. It took little effort for her to get it off of him, Vulpes breaking his hold on her long enough to cast the garment off of himself. He could feel her gloved hands through the thin fabric of his shirt, and his blood began to catch fire.

It felt a little wrong to be engaging her like this in a room where they had killed the father of her child, but at the same time, it invigorated him. Vulpes attributed it to his showmanism. Even if Vigo was not there to see or hear him make Juno scream in pleasure, it still felt like one giant 'fuck you'. He would be damned if Juno did not already seem to be enjoying herself. She never stopped kissing him, trailing her kisses down his neck as he would to the same to her, but she used this time to take off her gloves, eager to feel his skin.

Her hands pulled on his shirt, reaching underneath it and feeling his chest. She seemed appreciative of his muscle tone, admiring it so much that she stopped her kisses to watch her own hands move beneath his shirt. She seemed so fascinated, as if she had never been with a man like him. Vulpes would remedy that before the night was through, no matter how many orders he broke. No one would know. No one had to know.

Juno showed no signs of disapproval as he spun her around and pushed her out of the bathroom and down onto the neatly made bed. Very shortly, there would be nothing neat about it. As he climbed over her, she giggled with excitement and looked up at him with her big green eyes. Her hair had fallen all around her head much like a halo, and something about her lying there, waiting for him, made his pants even more uncomfortable.

The goddess reached up to him as he leaned over, unbuttoning his shirt with some measure of urgency. Vulpes heard her high heeled shoes hit the ground behind him, and as he searched her body for an easier way to get her out of her long red dress, kicked off his own shoes. He discovered a small zipper on her side and without thought yanked it down. Juno responded by wiggling out of her dress with a little help from the man above her, who grabbed handfuls of the fabric and pulled it down her body. As her legs emerged from the mess of fabric, she used them to pull him down closer to her and utterly eliminating the space between them.

No matter what tolls Ariadne's birth had taken on her figure, Vulpes still found Juno to be deliciously shaped. The stretch marks upon her belly mattered little compared to the hourglass figure her body had managed to keep even after birthing a child. Juno's breasts, while not large by any definition, still retained a round, easily held shape. Even beneath her clothing, Juno seemed to defy his expectations.

As he disrobed her, Juno's breath became quick and anxious. She showed her wanton sign of a woman in need of a man, and Vulpes knew himself to be showing her his own need, his membered pressed hard against the inside of her leg. As he leaned forward to kiss her once more, her long fingers found his belt and worked away at it. She would not have him in his pants while she lay naked and uncovered beneath him.

"Vulpes," she whimpered," please.."

Hearing her say his name like that caused his urgent need to rise up, and he kicked off his pants and underwear as soon as Juno had unbuckled his belt. Together, they took a moment to feel their naked forms moving together, finding a carnal and animalistic harmony neither had experienced in a long time. Their hands still explored one another, their mouths leaving trails of kisses and licks across the skin of the other. This was nothing like sex with a slave to Vulpes Inculta. This was different, but he could not place his finger on it. Perhaps this is what it felt like to lay with a deity.

"Juno…"

* * *

><p>When Juno fell asleep beside him, Vulpes knew he could rest easily. Even in her sleep, she maintained the satisfied, happy smile that came along with a well spent night in the arms of a capable man. She gathered nearly as much pleasure from their sex as she did simply hearing her name pass his lips, and just to hear her make that sound women often make in bed, he repeated it over and over again. Concerning himself with her pleasure turned out to be just as beneficial for him. She returned every sign of pleasure with a pleasing touch, nibble, and kiss of her own. Vulpes could no longer doubt why Juno could get so many men into bed with her to achieve her goals. No woman he had ever laid with knew how to please him better.<p>

Even with her make up smeared across her face, partially from her fight earlier that night and partially from her heated encounter with him, Vulpes found her unnaturally beautiful. Even compared to the other women of her tribe, Juno's hair color seemed brighter than it should be, like she had been bestowed at birth with some god-like light inside of her. He took this moment, this one unguarded moment, to admire her in all of her simplicities.

Mars knew he would not have the chance again. Too much was on his back. He could not break Caesar's orders again, no matter how tempting Juno presented herself to be. She would know for a while now that he would always be following her, and he would have to maintain a great distance to convince her otherwise. Vulpes knew what had transpired that night might never happen again, or at least not in the passionate and mutual way it had. If he were to ever take her again, too much would be crushed underneath the weight of their much needed secrecy. They would lie together and then part so quickly no one would know they had met, should they seek to relieve their attractions yet again. He hoped so. He knew she did too as she snuggled up to him.

_True to Caesar. _

And only to Caesar, no matter how tempting truth to Juno sounded. Vulpes knew his place.


	10. The Triggers

When morning came, Juno found herself alone, the realization of the fact hitting her like a rock. Vulpes had left at some point in the night, and she lay in bed alone, no arms wrapped around her body and keeping her safe. All she had were the sheets Vigo had slept in for countless nights, where she had shown herself to be a weak and fleeting woman. She had given in to Vulpes Inculta, given in to herself, and showed him that if he could get her into bed, she really was like a slave. That's how it felt to her as she rolled over, the impression of Vulpes' head pressed into the pillow next to her.

Maybe she was reading into this too much, or maybe she could see things clearly. She wanted it to be more than a one night stand, but on her terms. Terms that did not apply with much in the Legion, and Juno felt it in her gut that Vulpes would just be bad for her in the long run. Still, she wanted him. She could still smell him in the sheets, his musky and natural scent overpowering the artificial gloom that surely had been Vigo's scent. Juno felt like a fool for throwing herself at him, and Boone's words rang no more true than they did as she lay in bed alone.

_You're going to wind up like Carla, shackled and enslaved and…_

"Dead." Juno whimpered aloud.

But unlike Carla, Juno would not be dead before knowing what it was like to be enslaved and put on display. She would have to suffer through the life that no human being deserved, and Juno began to feel sick for accepting even for just a few weeks that there could be no helping the women that she pretended did not even exist as she passed through the Fort. She would not become one of them. She would not let her daughter become one of them.

No. She would not let that happen.

Juno weighed her options as she did everything Mortimer asked of her, insuring the allegiance of the White Glove Society to the Legion. Before she could leave the building, she knew two things. Staying with the Legion meant death or a terrible future. Leaving the Legion meant being hunted. She could never stop, but she could hide with the NCR if she became an informant. Maybe.. just maybe.

"Juno, right?"

Juno turned swiftly in the direction of the voice that called her name, and she was surprised to find a man standing in front of her, dressed to the nines. In a way, he reminded her of Vulpes. This man had the black hair and the air of someone who did a lot of sneaky-type work, but he seemed honest enough. The man had a good natured smile and song in his voice that she did not quite know how to categorize. He seemed happy, or maybe just content.

"Um, yes. That's me. Can I help you?"

"A friend of mine asked me to find you, I believe you know him by his last name." The man dropped her only the slightest hint, as if he knew all too well someone was following her, but it was enough for her to figure out who he was talking about. Boone. Boone sent him.

"Who are you?" She questioned, walking just a little faster through the Strip. He followed without question.

"You may call me Finch. I was told you have a problem I might be able to help with."

That was enough for her to turn straight toward the Lucky 38. Maybe there was a god. They spoke no more after that, walking through the Strip together in silence. She could feel him watching her, as acutely aware of her as the man who had left her behind after a night beneath the sheets. She figured it was something all men that worked in some kind of intelligence did. He could probably tell a lot about her just by looking at her, could tell just by looking at her that in that moment, she was most vulnerable to whatever he had to propose. If Boone had contacted someone, she could only assume that 'Finch' was part of the NCR.

When they walked into the Lucky 38, the façade dropped from him so quickly that she felt surprised. He maintained the contented smile, but the distant manner in which he had addressed her before vanished and he became much more familiar.

"My name isn't really Finch, but since we were in a much more public area, I figured it'd be a good idea to use the general intelligence name. Since you're a friend of Boone's, I suppose I can let you know my name is Daniel Connery. We served together for a while before I joined intelligence."

"Did he tell you what's happening with me?"

"No, but he told me you needed help. I know that you're a suspected terrorist, and that the NCR has already tried to forcibly take you in for questioning. I've been working on this end of things for a long time now. Its not the first time Boone's asked me to help a woman that's in trouble with the Legion, but unlike Carla, I can actually do something to help you."

"…What can you do?"

"In exchange for information, I can offer you amnesty. It's within my power to get the papers. "

He looked serious, and Juno could not doubt him.

"What kind of information do you want from me?" She asked, taking a seat in the casino level of the Lucky 38. Daniel followed suit.

"Numbers, how they operate, the Frumentarii, anything. They're pretty damn good at keeping secrets, and there are few men willing to infiltrate their ranks. You're already there. You're right where we need a man, or woman in this case."

"I want more than amnesty."

The agent seemed surprised by her blunt demand, but his smile remained and he leaned forward.

"Very well then, miss Juno. What would be your terms?"

"I want the amnesty, absolute safety for my daughter, and a home somewhere that the Legion can't get to me, but I don't want to be under the lock and key of the NCR."

"Done and done, my dear. What you can offer us is incredible, and if you start right now, I can absolutely guarantee everything you asked for."

And for whatever reason, Juno cracked open and spilled everything she could tell him. She wasted no time in turning over every stone in her mind and revealing to him even the tiniest details. Juno told him about Vulpes, how he was probably still following her, and how Caesar was using him to try and lure her in. Daniel took this in stride, but clearly judged her for it. He must not be familiar with the kind of loneliness that made a person fall prey to the worst kinds of people: the ones that pretended to be genuine.

She told him how many troops she thought were at the Fort alone, told him there had to be more if they were planning another full scale assault. By the time she left, Juno had probably told him all there was to know about the Legion that she knew herself. When she started on her way to the Fort, Juno left with a new radio signal patched into her PipBoy, one she would have to listen to for an hour or so a day just in case he tried to contact her.

_If I don't respond in three days, assume something has happened to me. _

Juno could take no more risks, and she feared the future. The Courier used to think she had power in this struggle, but really, she was nothing more than a piece being fought over.

* * *

><p>Gaea had not left Caesar's tent for more than a few minutes at a time for the last week. He had gotten progressively worse since Juno started coming to the Fort, and rumors were circulating that the goddess delivered pestilence to the son of Mars. Silly superstitions, Gaea knew better than to believe them. Brain tumors were not something people could develop from communicable diseases. He had exhibited these symptoms for a while now, and she was the only person who cared to noticed. Even under the watchful eyes of Lucius and the newly returned Lanius, she felt like the only person who held a life in their hands. Both men knew Caesar's life hung in the balance, but they hung over her like one unified, gloomy cloud.<p>

"If something happens to him when you operate, slave, your entire brood will pay for it."

Lanius wasted no time, as usual. He liked putting her on the spot. In fact, they all did. With a deep sigh, Gaea passed her hands through some clean water and dried them as she approached Caesar's sleeping and medicated form. She could not let him stay like that anymore.

She went for razor first, cleaning the remnants of his hair from his head so that skin would be clean when she had to pry it apart. Behind her, she could feel Lanius and Lucius watching every careful stroke of the blade she made. She had gotten old, but her hands had lost none of their precision. Gaea made no mistakes. Even when she cracked into his skull, going straight for where she knew the tumor to be, she could hear the disgusted sounds of the guards outside of the tent. In her younger days, the sound of bone breaking used to unnerve her, but she got over it quickly. In the coming days, they would too. Battle would reintroduce itself, and the horrors she had seen would be played for them. It had been too long since those boys had seen any action other than the gruesome beatings of a slave.

The operation moved slowly but predictably well until she found the tumor. Lucky for Caesar, it emerged in a place that would do little to hinder his regular functions, should she chose to cut it out and sew him back up, but Gaea realized she had a tremendous amount of power in her hands as she stared down into the open skull of Caesar. They had made a dire mistake giving her the tools with which to save Caesar's life. She had been loyal before. She valued the lives of her brethren, but my god, would it feel good to kill him. She could lie too.. Say it was a mistake.. there was no saving him.

There was no saving him. Gaea made no mistakes, only purposely blotched operations.

As she made her choice, Gaea prepared herself for death. She pulled the trigger on what she knew would become an ugly situation. There was no turning back.

* * *

><p><em>Hello again everyone. Here is a very short update to let you all know that I am, in fact, still alive. I've recently been introduced to Minecraft, and its consumed me. However, I do have a deliciously sad morsel to introduce you to in the next update, and it will be a longer one. I thought that this would be the best place to cut the chapter.<em>

_Also, Daniel Connery is a tip of the hat to James Bond, named after Daniel Craig and Sean Connery. I thought it only suitable._

_I am also aware that I completely skipped the Brotherhood of Steel questline. I don't think it fits into the story well, but it may be revisited later one.  
><em>


	11. Backlash

_I lied about it being much, much longer. I feel like I can't write super long chapters for fan fictions as I often want to put them up as soon as I get the point across that I'm trying to convey. I'll probably take another long editing break in another chapter or so. I'll be starting school in a few days, so I thought that I should get this update out as soon as possible.  
><em>

* * *

><p>Daniel Connery left the Lucky 38 with a mind full of information and puzzling thoughts. He found this Juno woman to beautiful, perhaps even awe inspiring. Still, it was obvious from the get go that she did not know what to do, who to trust, or how to handle herself anymore. Someone had clearly wormed their way into what Boone had once described as a solid, unbreakable exterior and flayed her composure until it was nearly unrecognizable. Daniel knew her only by the way people looked and talked at her, Boone's earlier description almost worthless.<p>

Juno had been broken down enough to even let him know who had been responsible for her current state, the Frumentarii leader Vulpes Inculta. Daniel had to admit, she sure knew how to pick them if she liked getting into trouble. Benny, Vigo, and now that Vulpes. She needed to set up shop with a nice, semi-stable, an overall decent guy, but those clearly were not her type. Even Boone probably sailed so far beneath her radar that she did not even consider him, or maybe the air of agonizing grief and regret around the guy stifled any romantic possibilities Boone would ever encounter.

Daniel pitied them both, found it peculiar that Boone wanted so much to help her. He wondered if Boone saw Carlia in Juno's long hair and green eyes, in her swaying hips and her velvet voice. He even wondered if Boone saw his unborn child in the little girl Juno reportedly had, and more and more felt like his aid was necessary. Both Boone and Juno were standing on the edge of clear catastrophe. Ever since Carla, the sniper had been unstable, and in the last few weeks, Juno had begun to lose her footing according to everyone he talked to about her. She did not know where to turn, and if Boone had not risen to the occasion to find people to help her, she could have died. She still could die, Daniel realistically thought.

Daniel followed her as she left, staying far behind because it seemed he was not the only one hot on her trail as she left the Strip. He used his careful knowledge of the terrain and buildings toward Novac to stay out of the sights of both involved parties, and as much as he tried to focus on Juno, he could not help but watch the man who kept his distance from her, trying just as hard as Daniel to remain hidden. The man prowled like a fox through the rocks and ravines near the river.

_Like a fox. _Vulpes Inculta.

Daniel cursed his luck, and Juno's. He should have guessed that she was being followed, but he supposed it was too late now. Still, the man would not know what had transpired between them, and if he had a lover's fire in him for the girl, would probably stoop to jealousy before suspicions of treachery any day.

Both men hugged onto ledges and hid themselves behind rocks Juno's entire trip to Novac. The sun had begun to fall, and she took her rests there. Before heading to any other room, she went to find Boone. Juno clearly had no idea of how to keep from incriminating herself, and Daniel could not go to warn her that she was being followed without Vulpes Inculta knowing he too was being followed. Daniel ducked low and waited, watching what he thought was the Frumentarii in the distance until the man left the scene. Not too much later, it turned out that Juno would not be taking rest in Novac. She left Boone's home and continued on the road, silent as always.

Daniel ran from his hiding place as soon as he was comfortable that she could not hear or see him head straight for the Sniper that emerged from his home to go on watch.

"Boone, there's a big mother fucking problem."

* * *

><p>When Vulpes arrived at the Fort, an air of shame and regret hung so thickly over the area that he could not imagine what had transpired. Every slave ran from him as if he were the slave master. Each man he passed looked at him as if there were news to be shared, but no one wanted to be the man to share it. Vulpes puzzled over this as much as he puzzled over Juno's rendezvous with a man named Finch, whom she took with her to the Lucky 38, almost surely so Vulpes would not overhear them. He puzzled over both of her stops in Novac, both of which she stopped to talk to the very same sniper who had threatened her life. His gut rolled around in realization, and he hated the thought that she might have been having second thoughts. Maybe, she had become a double agent, maybe she was playing him.<p>

Still, the thought that something equally as terrible had transpired inside the Fort left him curious. Only when he approached Caesar's tent and came face to face with Octavian did someone stop him. The Praetorian guard, Juno's very brother, held his arm out to stop the Frumentarii, and with grief in his voice, spoke up.

"Vulpes, It happened. Caesar's illness claimed him."

The shock that Vulpes felt forced the pride he had in his conquest and the bitter taste of suspicion down, smothering out all thoughts but surprise. This was what caused the Legionaries so much pain, then. Caesar's death had affected even the weather, an approaching monsoon storm lingering over the horizon. Octavian seemed to be worse off than the others, as if something else had happened.

"What else is no one telling me?"

"When Juno returns, Lanius is going to punish anyone that came from the Mamba tribe." "Including her?"

"Yes. Including her, and her daughter."

"Why are they falling under Lanius' hammer?"

"My mother performed the operation. She said Caesar waited too long for the operation, but Lanius believes it is Juno's fault."

Vulpes would not ask anymore question. He passed Octavian and entered the tent to find Lanius and Lucius, along with two other guards and a chained and beaten Gaea in the center of the tent. The two other guards stood vigil over her, and Lanius and Lucius were probably passing judgment on her. The slave already looked as if she had been punished thoroughly for whatever she could have prevented, but he knew it would not be enough for Lanius. The Legate was a showman, and he would make a show of her and Juno.

"There was nothing I could do, I swear," Gaea moaned. It seemed Vulpes had walked in on a lengthy and fruitless interrogation.

"Then it is time to stifle the flame of your mysticisms, witch. When the woman returns, you will all be punished accordingly.

Vulpes did not speak, but his presence did not go unnoticed. Lanius regarded him from behind his mask and stepped away from his interrogation.

"Lucius informs me you were assigned to follow the bitch to the Strip. Was she successful in Caesar's Will?"

"Yes. The White Glove Society has sworn allegiance."

"Anything else to report, Frumentarius?" Lanius pressed. The Legate was remarkably aware of people, so much so it often surprised Vulpes.

"She stopped twice in Novac to converse with a former NCR recon officer. While on the Strip, a man named Finch approached her and offered her aid, to which she responded by taking him to the Lucky 38. I could not follow and listen in."

"It's sounds like Caesar's chosen pets are all full of blasphemy and treachery. The flame of these people must be smothered out. They can no longer identify themselves as one unit. They are slaves. They will be punished accordingly."

"And Juno?"

As Vulpes spoke her name, The Legate's fierce and unrelenting glare could be felt through the mask that obscured his face. He could not tell if the Legate interpreted his question as concern or interest.

"She will be flogged and put in her proper place, like the profligate mongrel she is."

* * *

><p>As Cursor Lucullus ferried Juno to the Fort, the heavy rains of the Monsoon season began to fall. Very rarely did they reach that far north, but it could not be denied that they were welcomed. For once, they were not preceded by a sandstorm, and that surprised her considering the intensity of the rain. Water pooled and dripped over the edges of her hat as she watched Cursor Lucullus struggle almost without hope to keep the ferry on course.<p>

He remained silent and wary of her the whole way, which surprised Juno as much as the weather did. Since she began making regular trips to and from the Fort, he conversed with her regularly and with ease. The ease had vanished and left behind a concerned, jumpy man.

When they reached the Fort, the dock attendees secured the ferry as quickly as Juno and Cursor Lucullus abandoned it. At the gate, however, four battle ready guards awaited her.

"Courier, your presence is required at the Arena."

"Why? What's happened?"

"The Time has come."

The time for what, Juno could not guess, but she could tell it would not be good.

As they ascended the pathways of the Fort, each of these guards followed her closer and closer, as if waiting for her to run. The closer they got to the center of the Fort, the louder screams of despair and fear became, and these screams infected Juno's spirit and set her full of worry. The gate to the arena remained open, but she could not see into it before it was too late.

Inside of the Arena almost thirty women had been gathered, each attended to by a Legionary equipped with a machete. All of them were close together, parted only by a center pathway intended for her. _Intended for her._

Juno tried to back up, but the men that had escorted her latched onto her and together, the four men held her as she struggled and screamed, fighting with all of her strength as they brought her passed the gathered women. With one great force, they shoved her down onto her knees as she approached the other end of the arena, and behind her the gate closed.

"Hello, Juno.."

"Mom?.."

She looked to her left, and like her, her mother had been pitifully overcome by a small group of Legionaries, but unlike her, Gaea had been chained and beaten. Blood and mud mingled together in Gaea's hair and upon her clothing and skin. The day had not been kind to her.

"My god.. What the fuck is going on?"

"Hold your tongue, profligate scum!" One of the Legionaries holding her presented her with her first strike, hitting her on the back with the sheathed blade of a machete.

Juno wanted to cry out, but she did not. She bit her lip so hard that she began to bleed.

Above her, Men were gathered to watch the display. She thought she saw Vulpes, but in the heaviness of the rain, all of the faces were blurred and the only figure she could identify was that of her daughter, standing at the front of the group and held onto by someone she could only guess was the Legate.

"Ari!" "Mommy! Mommy!"

The Little girl tried to get away from the man who easily overpowered her, but he held her in place with only one hand, speaking over the girl's cries.

"Each woman gathered here is a slave to the Legion, but only those in the Pit are tainted with the identiy of a Mamba. Your heritage has infected you and instilled you with a vengeful and angry spirit, and in the wake of Caesar's death, I have realized my duty. Each of you is to be punished, only some of you killed. Only ten will remain to tell the story of the twenty two other women who died in front of you for their insolence, their petty lies and their unbridled behaviors."

More screams, but they were silenced as soon as the Legate spoke again.

"Your fate is to be decided by the men behind you. Each is equipped with a weapon, but only some of them are fatal. You will all be struck for your insolence, but the blade will either bruise you or defeat you. Men, Raise arms!"

The command echoed out with a clap of thunder, all of the men gathered in the Pit holding their machetes high. Even those surrounding Juno and her mother pointed theirs to the sky, sheathed or unsheathed, it did not matter to them. The two women at the head of the group would be punished far more harshly, and only those who survived would see it, those that were dying bleeding to a cacophony of violence and screams.

"Ari! Look away. Please god, just look away!" Juno screamed, her thoughts in that moment only on her daughter and the terrible torture she was about to endure. No amount of physical pain Juno would endure that day could compare to the trauma Ariadne was about to find herself in.

The Legate too raised his hand into the air, and as he brought it down, all thirty-six blades came down on the women in the Pit. Twenty two of them were cleaved nearly in half, blades slicing through their shoulders or necks, their blood spilling into the mud already polluting the floor of the Arena. Juno and Gaea were beaten down by the swords of their captors; hit anywhere the blades could hit. The other women who had not been killed upon impact moaned and screamed at every strike, each armed man swinging on them three times before ordered to stop.

* * *

><p>Vulpes watched the chosen Legionaries drop their women to the floor, Juno falling to the ground with them and rolling almost immediately onto her back, writhing in the immediate pain of her first punishment. From his place near the Legate, Vulpes balled both firsts and curled his fingers so tightly that he thought his nails might dig holes into his palm. He could not stand the sight of her underneath all of this pain and example, but true to Caesar, he would endure.<p>

"For Caesar!" The men screamed, and in a calamity of applauses, the entire Fort screamed out, "For Caesar! For Caesar!"

All but six of the men cleared out, leaving Juno and Gaea alone with four men, two of which were equipped with whips. In their present state of agony, both women were easily lifted into the air to be chained by their wrists to the wall, positioned just so everyone could see them. Vulpes never took his eyes of Juno, fully aware of her pain and suffering as the men stripped her down to her underclothes, pushing her head roughly against the metal walls.

"You have spread your pestilent sickness amongst these men, Courier. Your infection has claimed the life of Caesar, and I will not see another good man fall to you. You will be broken here and enslaved, put in your rightful place. If you are to be part of the Legion, you will serve it on your knees."

"Wha—what the fuck are you talking about? I didn't do shit to Caesar—"

"I said hold your tongue, Profligate!" One of the men in the Pit struck Juno on the back harshly with one of the whips he had been given. He showed her no mercy, and she screamed.

"Stop, stop hurting my mommy! You stoooopppp!" Ariadne yelled, and much like her mother, struggled infinitely against the hands holding her down. She screamed and punched and kicked at the Legate, but he appeared unmoved.

Vulpes could not see Juno's face, but he imagined the fury building up in her with every scream and cry from her child.

Each woman endured twenty lashes, whipped in synchronization one after the other. Gaea openly cried out, but in fiery protest, Juno made not a sound. When both women were released from the chains, Gaea fell straight onto her side, but Juno landed on her knees, wobbling for a moment before finding rest. The gloom and anger hung over her like a cloud, even the rains afraid of touching her.

"Mommy!.. Mommy!" Ariadne cried out again, and somehow, the small girl found enough strength to wiggle out of the Legate's one hand.

Without fear, she jumped over the side and landed in the mud with a scream, but she got up and ran to her mother. One of the men turned on her, raising his hand to strike her, but he would not be fast enough. Juno's basic instincts kicked in, and with a viscious cry, she launched herself at this man and ran at him until he staggered back and ran into the wall. The other men instantly abandoned their post to go after her, but they were too late as well. She had taken the man's machete from him, and in her fight-or-flight state, raised it high and struck down on him with ferocity. The blunt weapon may not have done much to her when she had been struck with it, but she slammed it straight into the man's temple and killed him with one more, banshee-like scream.

She turned so quickly on the other men that Vulpes began to realize her value to the Legion. In situations like this, he feared no man could compare to her ferocity. She moved faster than he had seen her move even when they were under the fire of House's securitrons. Bruised, beaten, and surely crippled, Juno's adrenaline fueled her so well that she could take on four full-fledged Legionaries.

Juno had no thoughts in that moment. Her eyes were glazed over in the unmistakable guise of a powerful creature backed into a corner, lashing out at its predators. She would protect her child at an cost, and she flew into such a destructive rage that three men would be dead before she was put down.

Things had gotten out of control, and a second person descended into the pit. Legate Lanius had followed after the girl, but he immediately turned himself on Juno. While she could almost certainly take the four men that had almost all fallen at that point, she could not handle Lanius' unbridled might. His bare, destructive hands came down on her, and with one well aimed strike, he sent her reeling into unconsciousness.

The blood of Legionaries, slaves, and the earth mixed in this pit of death and sin, and only twelve women escaped. Ten slaves were unlucky enough to live, Juno was carried out to be tended to, and Ariadne ran after her mother in so much fear that her cries shook Vulpes to his very core. Gaea passed away in the pit from blood loss, left to lie in the mud after Juno's daring attempt at a fight.

The Legionaries that took her away still carried her as if she were a revered goddess, and being so broken and bruised that she was almost beyond recognition in their arms as they passed by Vulpes. Her long red hair had been knotted and matted by the mud, blood trickling out of her wounds and leaving a trail behind her. Siri followed after the group so closely that Vulpes knew she would have the heavy duties of tending to her.

Vulpes disappeared from the group as soon as others began to leave, choosing flight rather than fight at the sight of Juno so terribly abused and beaten. Part of him thought she deserved it, but the protective part of him, the very same that sought to own her, was enraged. No one could defile or cripple his property like that. Only he, should he ever need to, could strike her. He dreaded facing her when she woke up, for he knew she would blame him. She would strike out at him, and her venom would reach deep.


End file.
